The Forgotten
by ItzRayz
Summary: He was the product of a scientific experiment that should not have happened. Driven by a strong sense of hatred, a young Naruto was left alone to survive on his own during the final conclusions of the third shinobi war.
1. Where it all began

Well this is the new story that I've been working on for quite a while now. If you been checking my profile periodically, you would have noticed that I have somewhat changed the story a bit. After weeks of tweaking and changing the a few things, it is finally time for this story to make its debut on the world. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you Forgotten.

Disclaimer: I only put a disclaimer at the beginning of every story. I do not own Naruto in anyway. The idea and the concept are all mine.

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It was in the 32nd year of our lord that the third great shinobi war finally came to a close.

_Lives have been lost… _

_Battles have been won…_

_The epic war brought forth many changes but one thing remained the same; the ideals of our leader. During these desperate times, it is these ideals that give each one of us hope for a better tomorrow._

_The ideal of freedom…_

_The ideal of ever lasting peace…_

_The ideal of a perfect weapon…_

_It was in the 32nd year of our lord that marked the beginning of a new generation._

- - -

_Four Months Later_

"Hibiki-san! The results are inconclusive. This… is the one."

"Really?" The doctor steadily replied, excitement rising in his voice. "I must see for myself. Come."

The two men quickly exited the room, eagerly rushing to see the fruit of their research. "I think we finally succeeded with this one Hibiki-san." The younger of the two said. He looked towards Hibiki, nothing but respect in his eyes.

Doctor Jin Hibiki was a famous doctor who specialized in the field of regeneration and healing. While he was still working in the medical field, he was known as the 'Miracle Man' because of his astonishing skills from within his field. His skills were said to rival that of the legendary Tsunade of the Sannins.

The doctor's eyes slowly widened as he witnessed the object of his attention. "Yes… YES. This is it!" He happily cried. His hand rubbed on the glass lightly. "You are the one…"

Hibiki turned around, a big smile written across his face. "Everyone. After two years of extensive research, we have finally succeeded in fulfilling our master's last wish!" He shouted, his arms waving around happily.

His team consisted of twenty men and women, each equally talented in their own fields. They were handpicked specially to join his team. He believed that each one of them shared the same goals, the same ideas as he. That's why they were selected. He believed that they had the drive to succeed where others will fail. He didn't want failures on his team. The projects and experiments that they undertook were extremely difficult and it required the best of the best.

"After all those long nights with endless problems, we never thought we would see this day but our perseverance paid off in the end. No matter what problem we encountered, no matter what obstacle stood in our way, we risen to the challenge and defeated it. Just like our leader! We have been ridiculed, mocked and been shamed by our own colleagues but it doesn't matter anymore. We have succeeded when everyone expected us to fail. This is a day to remember for the rest of our lives! "

One by one, each member of his team started to clap. He could see the tears of joy in each one of their eyes and inside his heart, he was proud of each one of them. Not once had he doubted them. He believed in his team and in himself all the way.

The large double metallic doors suddenly banged open, drawing everyone's attention to the loud noise.

A man soon stepped through the door, a sinister smirk on his face. "So this is where the rats have been hiding. Very clever Hibiki. Very clever indeed."

Hibiki stepped back, a look of fear in his eyes. "How did you find us Danzo?"

Danzo sneered as he looked around the room. "No matter how clever you think you are; a rat will always be a rat. You have been running, hiding from me for two years Hibiki. It's time to clean out the rats for good!"

Almost immediately after Danzo tapped his cane against the ground, the room soon filled itself with Ne, the personal ninjas that only answered to the warlord, Danzo. The ninjas came in like swarms of locust, killing everyone in sight. Not once shedding a tear of sympathy for the lives that they took.

Danzo stood tall at the platform, enjoying the screams that these pitiful rats were causing. It was like music to his ears. It was a purification, a means of ridding themselves of these vile rodents permanently. The only problem that still required his attention was the head rat. The one that was in charged.

The warlord slowly advanced towards Hibiki, his cold beady eyes staring the doctor down. "It seems that you're the only one left. I'm going to enjoy killing you."

The doctor scooted a step back as Danzo took a step forward. "Stay away Danzo! You have no right to be passing judgment on us!"

"Right? Since when do rats have rights? I am the one who controls the shadows here. Not you! I pass judgment on whomever I see fit. You have been a thorn in my sides since I first laid eyes on you Hibiki. Whenever my plans fail, you were somehow always involved. I have been waiting for a perfect time to end your misery but when that time arrived, you disappeared on me. What I want to know is why? Why do you interfere with my plans?"

"The way you do things were unethical Danzo! It was morally wrong-"

"Morally wrong? Ha!" Danzo sneered. "I happen to know about your recently activities Hibiki. If I'm morally wrong by killing people then Kami should have struck you down instantly for continuing with your so called experiments."

"I'm doing it for the greater good. It is the will of our leader! What you're doing is murdering people in cold blood. You cannot compare me to the likes of you!"

"That's where you're wrong Hibiki. I will soon rise to power but it's too bad that you won't live to see it."

"You haven't won yet Danzo." Hibiki boldly stated.

Danzo ignored him, his gaze now lingering to the object that Hibiki is standing in front of. "What have you been doing down here Hibiki?" He asked, a curious note hinted in his voice.

Hibiki turned his head to the right and he immediately jumped up, spreading his arms out in front of it. "Danzo! You stay away from this!"

"Is that…" Danzo gasped as a smile appeared on his face. "Yes… Yes it is! This is the only time that I will congratulate you Hibiki. You finally succeeded…"

"I won't let you have it!"

"Fool. I take what I want. I destroy what I don't want. A rat like you should know his place in this world."

With a flick of his wrist, Hibiki was down on the floor, a shocked expression on his face. His hands quickly pulled the kunai that was lodged in his throat out and started emergency treatment on himself. While he was on the floor recovering, Danzo approached the glass tank. His wrinkled aging hand touched the glass as his eyes concentrated themselves on the object inside of it. "You will be mine…"

"I… won't… let you… have him…"

Danzo turned around, a mild surprise look on his face. "I thought I killed you…"

By the sheer amount of his own willpower, Hibiki stood back up, his hands already in the process of healing his wound. "This is our life's work and I would rather destroy it then let you have your ways with it!"

Before Danzo could say anything, the doctor pulled out a small remote and flaunted it in the warlord's face.

"Die."

Just as Hibiki pressed the button, a small beeping sound rang through the corridors before simultaneous explosions occurred at once. The turn of events completely caught Danzo and the Ne by surprise. "KILL HIM!" The crippled man shouted.

Several ninjas jumped on top of Hibiki and impaled their weapons through his body. Hibiki smirked as he felt a stinging sensation throughout his body. He saw the look on Danzo's face and it was worth dying for. Knowing that neither he nor anyone else could get their hands on his project, he let his head dropped to the floor, feeling his heart slowly stopping. He opened his eyes for one last time, staring at his pride and joy for the last time.

"You… are the _Essence_ of them all. Show them… Show everyone… who you are." He whispered for the last time.

Danzo screamed in rage as he felt his own ninjas taking him to safety. "FOOLS! We have to go back and retrieve it!"

"But Danzo-sama. We must evacuate or we will suffer the same fate as them." One of his Ne commented.

Danzo reluctantly nodded his head. "Let's make haste then."

- - -

Danzo gritted his teeth slowly as he watched the entrance to Hibiki's hidden research base slowly crumbled. The base itself was cleverly hidden in the darkest of the jungles, where no light had dared to enter. It was by a stroke of luck that one of his men found the entrance.

He patiently waited outside, growing more impatient as the explosions slowly subdued. Just as he was about to take a step forward, a final explosion occurred, causing a huge fire to erupt and engulf the entire building.

Danzo gripped his cane to the point where his ninjas heard a crack on the metallic plating. "I was so close… It was just within my reach!" He harshly spoke up. "Sarutobi would have surely succumbed under my hands if I had it… DAMN YOU HIBIKI." He yelled.

The man stood just outside the fire-ridden area, watching the flame slowly burn. In his eyes, it was taunting him, reminding him of the endless possibilities that he had just within his reach.

Now… It was nothing more than a passing dream.

"Damn you all the way to hell Hibiki." Danzo cursed. Just as quickly as the fire ravaged through the building, all traces of the Ne and their leader disappeared, as if the fire was started by itself.

- - -

Deep inside the destroyed building, underneath all the debris and rubble, there was a small glow emitting from the damaged laboratory. It was a bright red color that illuminated the area. Quiet sounds of something crying could be heard from underneath the rubble.

In the place of where a circular glass tank stood now laid a broken down tank with the liquids spilled all over the ground. Lying near the shards of broken glass was a four-month-old newborn with short blond hair and faint whisker marks on each cheek. A red glow surrounded the baby, protecting it from all harm.

_Inside the mindscape of the newborn_

A loud dark voice roared throughout the mindscape, clearly angry by its beastly bellow. There were many paths inside this mindscape, filled with many twists and turns, each leading to a different section. In the center of it all, stood a large solid cage where the beastly roars originate from. Deep from inside the cage, there was a creature of unimaginable height, easily dominating even the tallest human. This was a creature of legend, the mighty Kyuubi no Youki. The strongest of all the bijuus.

"**Confined to this weak body… That pitiful human thinks that by confining me here is enough to stop me. It is only a matter of time before I make my escape." **The beast growled. It then lifted its head, as if there was something amiss in the air.

"**Oh what's this smell? It looks like I'm not the only one in here…"** Its red slit eyes looked around the cage, searching for the invisible entity.

"**It is only a matter of time before I find your location…"** The beast scoffed. **"Until then, hide. Hide and never show yourself before me."**

Just as the beast finished its threat, a small gust of wind shifted in the mindscape, soothing the beast once more.

_Outside the mindscape_

By some bizarre luck, the red glow that supposedly surrounded the baby began to diminish, the protective barrier disappearing. A white veil appeared over the newborn, like a silk cover to a bed, slowly removing the baby from the plains of existence. It was as if fate herself played a hand in this boy's future.

In a mere fraction of a second, the boy disappeared from the destroyed laboratory. Never to be seen again… Until sixteen years later…

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Author's Note: Okay so there are probably some things that you're probably curious about. Let me explain some things to you before people start sending me the same questions. In this story, Naruto will not follow the canon, hence that I sahe won't be appearing until 16 years later. Anything that happened before 16 years will follow the canon, just minus Naruto. By following the canon, it limits my creativity and leaves me with no room to explore.

As for Naruto's character, he'll be tough as nails, somewhat cynical. The reason for this will be explained throughout the chapters. I will be incorporating mythologies from several parts of the world and mixing it up with a little bit of science. So what do you think? Leave me a review!

Narutionary  
.Essense - The term Essense refers to the attribute that defines what a substance or object is from the fundamentally core. More will be explained later.


	2. When they all met

Hey Folks. I'm back with the second chapter of the Forgotten! A lot of important things are explained in the chapter and then there will be an important author's note at the bottom.

Thanks to Weixuan18 for being my beta. Couldn't have completed this without you.

Without further ado. Readers, Reviewers... Enjoy.

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"Hehe hoho…"

"Hoho haha…"

There was that wretched noise again. The annoying sound buzzing in and out of her ears.

Why was Kami so against her of having a few hours of shuteye?

Was that just too much to ask for?

Tsunade stirred slightly as she shifted her head from one arm to another, not paying any attention to the noise. All she really wanted was just a few hours to herself, a reward for finishing fourteen hours of paperwork in just two hours.

But still… The laughter was somewhat familiar and her mind wasn't going to let her rest until she figured out why it was so recognizable.

"Hehehe."

There it was again, that girly giggling. She opened her eyes slowly, the bright beams of sunlight causing her eyes to wince. The Godaime Hokage sat up and stretched her arms, letting out a loud yawn.

Jiraiya sat in the chair grinning lecherously. His trusty notebook and pen was out and the novelist was writing up a storm. He came into the office earlier hoping to discuss some crucial matters but opportunity rang and he couldn't ignore it.

His fans would definitely love this volume. 'Seduction by a Princess'.

A huge grin appeared on his face as he pictured the millions and millions of adoring fans waiting to purchase his book. Women would be groveling at his feet, begging for his autograph. He giggled again at the thought, perverted scenarios quickly filling his mind.

His attention was interrupted when he heard a loud yawn and looked up to the source. "Yo hime." The Toad Sannin greeted.

Tsunade blinked her eyes and stared. "…Jiraiya?" She asked. Her eyes soon wandered down to the book in his lap and she narrowed her eyes. "Goodbye Jiraiya." She retorted.

The great novelist cried out in agony as he felt his teammate's fist connect with his jaw, the chakra induced punch that could destroy any man with one hit but luckily he was not just any man. He was beyond the limits of any mere mortal. He was Jiraiya of the Sannins, the man who could get beaten by Tsunade and survive to talk about it!

Jiraiya groaned as he pushed himself up, small debris falling off his chest, "Hello to you too."

"What are you doing here Jiraiya?" Tsunade huffed, her arms folded against her chest.

"I found him." Jiraiya replied. He moved his jaw slightly, grinning back at his teammate. "I finally found him."

"Him?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, confused. "Did you finally locate Orochimaru? He's been a thorn in our side for way too long."

Jiraiya scoffed. "Not that snake. He has an idea on how large my spy network is but not my informants. He's being extremely careful nowadays because of a rumor that I'm still investigating. I only have a good estimate on where his hideout is but forget him. This person is far more important than Orochimaru."

"Who did you find then?"

"The fourth's legacy." Jiraiya answered. "I've been searching for him for 10 years now and I finally found him."

"His legacy? Minato's legacy? What was there to find? Minato's legacy died the night he died. There is nothing left. Sensei wrote about it extensively on his reports."

"Ahhhhh!" Jiraiya raised his voice, a smile on his face. "There's a difference between me and you. Sensei wasn't completely convinced that Minato's legacy died that night so he told me to search the world for it. He believed that maybe the boy disappeared from Konoha."

"And you found him?" Tsunade skeptically asked. "You found the very thing that no one else could find? No matter how hard they searched"

Jiraiya nodded his head. "And it took you ten years to locate him?

Jiraiya nodded his head again. "Hm… That punch must have done a lot more damage than I anticipated."

"Wait wait. I'll prove it to you." Jiraiya protested. He got up and walked over to the door. "May I present to you… Minato's final legacy."

Tsunade's felt herself feeling a bit nervous as she watched Jiraiya approach the door. It could have been the eagerness of seeing the Yondaime's legacy or indigestion. Whichever it was, this moment would definitely make her day.

Jiraiya had a huge smile on his face as he reached for the door before swinging it open. Much to Tsunade's surprise, there was no one there. Jiraiya, on the other hand, failed to realize that there was no one there so he continued to grin like a fool at Tsunade.

"And who exactly should I be looking at?" Tsunade growled.

"Huh?" Jiraiya picked his head up and looked outside. "Gaki! Where the hell are you? I told you to wait here." He shouted into the hallway, not caring about the people passing through.

Tsunade walked over to Jiraiya and held her palm to his forehead. "Hm… Normal temperature, breathing rate is normal as well. Pupils aren't dilated. What do you know! You're not high Jiraiya." The medic answered after her analysis.

"Well duh. It's ten o'clock in the morning… Grr… Wait until I get my hands on that gaki…" Jiraiya threatened. "Make a fool out of me will he?"

Jiraiya took another quick sweep around the hallways before sighing. "Man, he nearly got me that time. I almost didn't sense it." He walked out into the hallway and raised his palm. "Kai!"

Tsunade had a puzzled look on her face as she watched Jiraiya perform a dispelling technique on nothing but air. She didn't feel any other chakra signature in the hallway but theirs.

Just as she was about to say something, the empty spot near the wall slowly began to dispel itself, revealing an extremely irritated person standing there.

"If you _ever_ leave me out there like some sort of animal again, I swear I'll castrate you and all those books. And rest assured, I'll ensure that you'll never produce a book in this town again." The person threatened.

"I swear it won't happen again. You know how it is…" Jiraiya desperately tried to explain.

Tsunade remained silent as she took this chance to carefully study the young man. She estimated that he was about 5 feet 11 inches, 155 pounds and if she looked carefully enough, she could almost swear she could see the faint outlines of his muscular frame through his clothes. The boy was very toned for his age. His wild yellow hair and his blue eyes were uncommon in these parts as well as the birthmarks on his face.

Dressed in nothing but a loose white shirt and light blue pants, the boy's weapon holster was on his right leg, just within reach of his arms. He was wearing no hitai-ate so he didn't come from any village but if he was the boy that Jiraiya swore to be the fourth's legacy, she would definitely make him a Konoha Ninja.

Even after she looked him over, there was something about those birthmarks on his face that kept attracting her attention. She couldn't put her finger on it but she saw those markings somewhere before.

"What the hell are you staring at you old hag?"

"Old hag?" Tsunade choked out. "Why you disrespectful brat… I'll murder you!" She threatened. She pulled her fist back and swung with enough chakra to knock an average jounin out.

"NO!" Jiraiya shouted, trying to stop his teammate. "DON'T!" But it was already too late. Tsunade swung and her fist was about to make contact with the boy's face… but it never reached…

Tsunade had a bewildered look on her face when she felt her fist connect with something solid but it wasn't the boy's face. She expected him to be flying backwards, yet he just stood there with a bored expression on his face.

Pain suddenly shot through her body as she pulled her fist away, her eyes full of surprise as she stared at her bloody hand. "What the hell are you…?" She asked.

The young man tilted his head slightly and glared hatefully at Tsunade. "I hate people like you. People who think they're better than the rest because of where they are. Come down to my level and I'll squash you like the bug you are." He harshly replied.

"Oi. That was kind of harsh. Even for you... Naruto." Jiraiya said from the sidelines.

The young man shrugged his shoulders. "For a person to be hiding behind a genjutsu, I have no respect for that." He started walking away, leaving the shocked Hokage alone. "If you attempt to strike at me again, I won't hesitate to make your head roll. Hokage or not."

Tsunade never felt that much killing intent aimed at her in her entire life. Not even her battle with Hanzo could compare to this boy. This boy was on an entirely different level. It wouldn't surprise her if this boy had the potential to surpass everyone but his personality was a different story.

After regaining her voice, she looked at Jiraiya, who was just standing there coolly. "What did he mean by that Jiraiya?" She asked.

"It's just as he said, he would literally make your head roll from your body." The Toad Sannin casually explained.

"I think I need a drink…" Tsunade said as she finished healing her hand.

"I'll join you. It looks like I have a lot to explain."

The two walked into her office, both knowing that there would be a lot of headaches coming in the near future.

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Konoha Market Place

The young man who made quite an impression on Tsunade, the Hokage, was slowly walking around in the crowded area. His earlier adventure left him somewhat hungry and he developed a craving for an apple. He didn't want just any apple. He wanted an apple from Kusagakure, the place where only the best apples grew.

He stopped at the first fruit stand and his eyes glanced at the merchant's selection slowly. The fruit merchant greeted his customer warmly, a routine smile on his face. "Good day sir. How can I be of service to you today?"

Naruto paid the chubby man no attention as he continued looking. He spotted the usual apples from Konoha and Suna but none from Kusagakure.

"I see that you're interested in apples today. May I interest you in purchasing some of the finest apples from Konoha? These beauties are a native to the area around here and I personally handpicked these beauties myself."

"Not interested."

"Why don't you try one and then tell me you don't want it?" The seller persuaded, trying to make a sell. To Naruto's displeasure, the idiotic merchant shoved the apple right into his face, blocking his line of vision.

"Get that piece of shit out of my face before I break your arm." Naruto growled out, threatening the man. The merchant, oblivious to the fact that Naruto was serious about his threat continued to push his luck.

"But sir, you haven't lived until you tried one of these apples."

"And you haven't lived long enough to know when to shut up!" Naruto coldly retorted.

Within a blink of an eye, Naruto quickly took out a kunai and sliced the apple into 4 pieces. Blood soon drew from the fruit merchant's palm and the man completely lost it. He screamed out in agony as he cowered backwards, holding his palm and screaming at the same time.

"YOU MONSTER!" The man screamed. "HOW COULD YOU?"

Naruto ignored the man's antics as his eyes finally found the apple that he was searching for. He picked it up and shot a grin at the fruit merchant. "It's only a little scratch you baby. How about I show you what a cut really looks like next time?" Naruto menacingly said.

The merchant whimpered as he quickly shook his head. "Just take it and go!"

"Gladly." Naruto answered as he took a bite from the apple. The delicious nectar going down his throat. He chuckled as he walked away, leaving the frightened merchant alone.

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Hokage Tower

"So that's Minato's legacy?" Tsunade asked. "He looks nothing like your late student Jiraiya. Are you sure you found the right one?"

"Do you take me for an incompetent fool? Of course I found the right one." Jiraiya snorted. "The gaki's name is Naruto."

"Naruto? What's the brat's last name?"

"Don't know it. He never talks about his past." Jiraiya took a sip from the Sake bottle, a small moan of pleasure escaping his lips as the liquid passed through his throat.

"What is he then? How in the world did he manage to create a barrier that stopped my punch and bruising my fist at the same time?" Tsunade angrily asked. She was still pissed off at the brat for embarrassing her like that.

Jiraiya chugged the entire bottle of sake before tossing it over his shoulder. He smacked his lips as the last drop of sake left his mouth. It was finally time to get serious. "Tell me Tsunade, what do you know about Jin Hibiki?"

"That quack of a doctor? Last time I heard, the doctor was experimenting with something forbidden and was banished from the medical field for being too dangerous. I heard he died in some freak explosion in his lab."

"You're only half right. Doctor Jin Hibiki was a man who was head of his time, a man who could have easily rivaled your skills in the medical department if it weren't for his goal to create the perfect weapon. You see, the late doctor was experimenting on Essences. He was hoping to extract them from their raw nature and implement it into a living human being."

Tsunade gasped. "You don't mean to tell me that… that boy is…"

Jiraiya nodded his head. "I have my suspicions but I believe Naruto is the final product of the late doctor. He is the living testimony of the doctor's work. What you witnessed earlier was his wind barrier. It protects him at all times and is a dangerous weapon if he utilizes it fully."

"But what is this Essence stuff that you're mumbling about?"

"Essence is what makes up our elemental nature. Didn't sensei cover this with us when we were young?" Jiraiya asked which only earned him an angry growl from Tsunade. "Anyway… In a sense, Essence is considered to be the raw power from which elements draw their powers from. Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice and Lightning. These are considered to be the six basic Essences that we know of. While doing research, I came across an old legend that said that if ever these six Essences come together in a unified way, it shall either make or break the world."

Tsunade felt her body shivering from the amount of information that she was receiving. "A boy his age that holds the power of the wind essence at the palm of his hands is just… unbelievable. I personally don't trust him to be responsible with his Essence."

"Tsunade… that boy doesn't have only the wind Essence… he has all six Essences within him."

"WHAT?" Tsunade yelled out. "All six? Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yeah."

"That much power in his hands?" Tsunade slumped back into her chair. "Does he know about his… abilities?"

"He doesn't know about the extent of his abilities but sooner or later, he will find out. It's only a matter of time now..."

"Does he know about Hibiki and his experiments? Maybe it's best for him that he doesn't remember it."

Jiraiya paled, a chilling expression appearing on his face. "No Tsunade… It's much worse than that. Naruto was actually able to retain all his memories, from the very moment he was experimented on to the present. He is able to recall every single face, every single event, and every single detail from any point in his life. Anything he sees, he will most likely remember it for the rest of his life."

"How is that possible? No human being is able to remember everything from the start of his childhood. That is just impossible."

"I believe the Wind Essence is the reason why Naruto remembers everything. Long ago, there were a tribe of people who worshipped these Essences, believing that they were spirits bounded in form to help humanity survive. They believe that wind was the smart spirit, able to remember and record details of time. Since the wind is naturally free flowing and literally everywhere, it sees everything, committing what it saw to memory."

"Wait you said there was a tribe of people. What kind of tribe were they?"

"These people were long forgotten as time went on but they left behind a relic that tells their story for future generations. Anyway, these people had no name but they were mighty warriors, people who were able to harness the power of the essences. Many of the tribesmen were able to wield at least one or two but every twenty years or so, there was always an exception. The tribe elders foresaw a prophecy that tells of a great darkness that will cover the entire plain of existence."

Tsunade knew what was coming. This man was going to ruin her day by telling her some forsaken prophecy. She didn't even bother to hold back as she chugged the entire bottle of sake. When she was done, she gave the go-ahead, signaling Jiraiya to continue on.

Now… she was ready for whatever was to come.

"_Light will be devoured by Darkness. _

_An ancient evil will arise, bringing forth an army from the dead. _

_A tainted wheel and a broken spiral._

_From the depths of this Darkness, a chosen one will arise. _

_Together, they must_."

Tsunade found herself somewhat speechless. It was somewhat shocking. You start your day by seeing the sun shining brightly and then your world comes crashing down. "Does it have merit thought? Should I prepare for this?"

The novelist shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know much about it but be on guard. After witnessing what that gaki has in him, I wouldn't put it behind me."

Tsunade groaned as she calculated the amount of paperwork that she would be expecting. She kept replaying the information over in her head until she stopped at a single thought. "You said Naruto was able to remember everything. Does he remember… oh dear lord. If he does then…"

Jiraiya nodded his head, agreeing with the conclusion that his teammate just drew. "Yup. The boy is out for blood and not just any blood… He wants the blood of the man who did this to him."

The Hokage groaned as she plopped her head against her arms. "Jin Hibiki is dead. What can the brat do besides digging up the grave?"

That's when Jiraiya's voice went dead. "_Never_… _underestimate_… _the boy_…"

_

* * *

_

Konoha Marketplace

Naruto quietly munched on his apple, satisfied that he finally found his fruit. Now that he his craving was gone, he could concentrate on his task at hand. There was only one reason why he came to Konoha and that was to find all records about Jin Hibiki. If that man had any living relatives, they would pay for the crimes if the doctor cannot.

The young man was too captivated with his own thoughts to pay any attention to where he was going. His carelessness caused him to collide with someone on the road, sending them both to the ground. He mumbled a quiet curse and looked up.

The man he bumped into had pale skin and a creepy smile while wearing dark clothes. Just by taking a quick glance at the man, Naruto could tell that he was almost like a drone, deprived of all emotions.

"Sai! You idiot! You should have been paying attention! Stop daydreaming!" A woman said, scolding at Sai.

"Okay ugly hag. I will remember your advice the next time I need it." Sai answered as he got up. Naruto watched as this Sai character offered him a smile before walking off. Before he could say anything, the two people who were with Sai walked up to Naruto and offered their apologies.

"Sorry about my teammate sir. He's a bit… eccentric." The pink haired woman said as she offered her hand to help Naruto up.

Naruto growled as he slapped her hand away. "Does it look like I need your help? Get your eyes checked." Naruto got up and pushed passed the two, his eyes fixated on one person only.

"Hey buddy, I think you forgot something."

"Huh…?" Sai turned around, expecting the man to be returning something he dropped earlier but instead found a fist to his face. Naruto had a smirk of satisfaction as he slammed his fist into Sai's face, watching him crash into a merchant's stall. He didn't bother to hold his punch back at all. It felt good to feel his knuckles grinding with the man's face.

Holding back was something that Naruto didn't believe in. The slight difference in power means the difference between winning and losing the battle and losing was not an option for him.

"You forgot your manners. You're supposed to apologize when you bump into someone." Naruto sarcastically said.

"SAI!" The pink hair woman rushed to his side, helping her fallen comrade up. Sai tried to shake off his dizziness as he slowly pushed the broken debris off. "I apologize then Emo-san." He slowly as he slowly lost consciousness.

Naruto took off without any warning, running towards Sai with every intention of breaking the man's face. Just as he was about to leap into the air, the pink hair woman appeared in front of Naruto with her fists held out.

"I can't let you do that!" She stated as she raised her fists. Naruto recognized the stance and sushined from the spot, leaving the woman surprise. He appeared from behind her and twisted his body for a quick elbow smash but before he could pull the attack off, vines shot up from the ground, catching him by surprise.

"I can't let you hurt either of my students stranger." The elder man commented. Naruto grunted as he attempted to remove the vines off him.

"Don't bother struggling. Even ninjas have trouble breaking out of this technique and you sure don't look like one."

The man's comment brought a small smile to Naruto's face as he held his head up high. "So just because you think you're a ninja, you're strong? Being a ninja doesn't mean that you rule this world."

"Don't talk to Yamato-sensei like that!" The pink hair woman scolded. She cracked her knuckles as she walked closer to Naruto. "You don't look like a Konoha Ninja. You also don't have a Hitai-ate so you must be a spy!"

Naruto laughed as he felt the vines tightening themselves against him. "Spy? I wouldn't be caught dead spying for this pathetic excuse for a village. You ninjas are all alike, with your superiority complex and all. Even your Hokage was weak."

"Tsunade-sama is not weak!" The pink hair woman roared out as she arched her fist back. She heard enough from this man. Insulting her teammate was one thing but to insult her mentor was crossing it.

"Sakura wait!" Yamato yelled out. He wanted to warn his student that the man was up to something but his warning came too late.

Naruto smirked as he stared the man called Yamato dead in the eyes. "Appearances are always deceiving Konoha-nin-san." Yamato watched in horror as the man he had trapped in his vines earlier break out from the trap with ease. The man had no time to counter as some invisible force slammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Sakura never saw it coming. She was so focused with landing her punch that she failed to realize that the man had escape from her sensei's trap and was behind her in an instant.

"Like sensei… like student…" Those were the last words she heard before she hit the ground hard. The force behind that blow felt like one of her masters when she was truly angry. Just how was this person able to duplicate a technique like that…

Naruto spat on the ground as he walked over to the fallen Sai. "Your teammates are trash. She did nothing to stop me. What can you do… to stop me…" Naruto whispered as he crouched down. Naruto picked Sai up by the collars of his shirt, lightly slapping his free hand against Sai's cheeks. "Oi… You couldn't be dead already. I thought you Konoha ninjas had more spunk…"

"He was buying time for me." A new voice spoke up.

Naruto looked up in time to see someone coming up from behind him and performing a roundhouse kick. Naruto snorted at the futile attempt as his defenses automatically went up but to his surprise, the power behind the kick was something that caught him off guard. The force of the kick sent Naruto into another vacant stall, sending the broken pieces of wood everywhere.

"Nice to meet you stranger. The name's Uchiha Sasuke. It's best to know your place around here."

From the depths of the broken stall, Naruto stood right back up with his arms folded against his chest. "Uchiha Sasuke huh? The younger brother of Uchiha Itachi and the wielder of the infamous Sharingan. I'm going to enjoy beating you to the ground."

* * *

"Is he a liability Jiraiya? I will not have that freak of nature walking around my village. A kid with that much power is too unstable. Look at what happened to Itachi." Tsunade began ruffling through papers, searching for something in particular.

"How can he be a liability? He's my student!" Jiraiya relied with a hint of pride in his voice.

"You - you… taught that thing?" Tsunade asked, stuttering in her question.

"Of course but it was only for a year. I couldn't leave him defenseless you know. Just gave him the basic introduction and introduced him to some jutsus. The rest he learned himself. I wish I had more students like him."

"But but WHY HIM? You could have had your pick of so many students." Tsunade protested. "I can't believe you picked him to be your apprentice! Is it because he's Minato's son? Is this your way of repenting?"

"Of course not." Jiraiya sharply replied. "I did not pick Naruto to be my apprentice because of his blood or because of his powers. I picked Naruto because he reminded me of ME!"

"Aha! I knew I recognized his face somewhere." Tsunade yanked out a folder from the bottom of her desk drawer. She quickly flipped open the file and her eyes widened in amazement. "Did… Did you know he's… the container for the demon…"

"Yes."

"And you still taught that _thing_?" Tsunade harshly asked. "The _thing_ that terrorized our village? The _thing_ that killed your former student?"

"ENOUGH!" Jiraiya roared as he slammed his hands on the table. "He is not a monster nor is he a liability!"

"That -"

"That what?" Jiraiya asked as he glared at his teammate, daring her to continue. He had enough of this bullshit treatment. The boy was practically human! Flesh and blood like everything else.

"Nothing…" She quietly mumbled out. Jiraiya shook his head in disappointment as he sat back down in his seat.

"I'm disappointed in you Tsunade. Sensei would have been disappointed in you as well. Why can't you open your eyes and see beyond what he is? Have you completely lost sight of the ideals that you once believed in?"

Tsunade sighed as she shook her head. "The past is the only thing that I have left. The future is something that I refuse to look forward to. There's nothing left for me except running this village. Even after their deaths… I still miss them."

She closed her eyes as she felt her rage subduing inside of her. "So he's not a liability?"

"Nope. Only a monster if provoked."

"Provoked? What do you mean by that?"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin as he pondered on that question. "If someone does something rude to him, if someone insults him, if someone engages him in a battle… basically anything that pisses him off."

Tsunade groaned as Jiraiya finishes his explanation. "So I have a disaster waiting to happen on my hands? Great. Just bloody great."

"What? I never said he was perfect."

_

* * *

_

Konoha Market Place

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as his opponent got up without any scratches on him. '_Finally, there's someone on my level.'_ The Uchiha thought.

He slipped into the Uchiha stance and lowered his legs, his arms held out. "I don't know who you are but I don't give a shit. It's been a long time since I had a good fight."

"The feeling's mutual." A voice whispered from being Sasuke. A look of panic shot across the Uchiha's face as he quickly turned around but even then, Naruto backhanded his opponent into another stall.

"You better entertain me well Uchiha Sasuke… I hate weaklings…" Naruto coldly said as he looked on.

Sasuke chuckled as he kicked away several broken pieces of wood. "You know, you remind me of how my brother used to be before he passed away. Let's play!"

* * *

Author's Note: Well I certainly took my time writing this chapter. I wanted to fit the important things on here and I believe I did. A little bit of Naruto's history is explained and you get a feel of what Essences are.

I know that some characters are out of place so let me take the time to explain why. In this story, Tsunade never met Naruto and it wasn't our favorite blond that brought her back to Konoha. With that in mind, it is only natural that she never met him and dislikes him.

According to my beta cough Weixuan18, he claims Naruto is a bit extreme and I cant agree with him more. Naruto had it rough and thus he was raised in the village. He isn't accustomed to the traditions and ways of people but more will be explained later.

Sasuke as well is out of character because I wanted to take a new approach. In this story, Itachi is dead because Sasuke finally got his revenge but more light will be shed as the chapters continues.

More on his abilities and skills will be demonstrated in the next chapter. I believe that the fight between Naruto and Sasuke will be the biggest thing I'll EVER do so look forward to that.

I have gotten a review saying that this story is similar to Gundam Seed. I can confidently say that this story will not be like Gundam Seed. I can see where you would draw the conclusion and I would agree with you. I purposely used the last name of Hibiki because he reminded me of a scientist who experimented to create the ultimate tool. Aside from that, it will not be like Gundam Seed.

Also, some of you guys were asking for pairings and such. Well, to be honest. I haven't considered the pairings at this point in the story but will keep your suggestions in mind.

Thank you for leaving me some reviews. I enjoyed reading all of them.


	3. What it is now

Here's the next chapter of The Forgotten. Hope you will enjoy it.

A big thanks to Wilson for helping me with this chapter. Props to you man.

I would also like to thank everyone, readers and reviewers for just being there. It's for you guys that I write for! Anyway, enjoy the chapter before I get sappy here.

* * *

Standing in the middle of the Western Konoha Market Area, an increasing amount of chakra drove away the mass of commons, leaving only two behind.

"Come on rookie. Let me see what you got before ANBU comes to take you away." Sasuke taunted. "I want to see what you're capable of doing."

Naruto remained impassive as he ignored his opponent's taunt. "You obviously must be an idiot Uchiha Sasuke, picking a fight against someone who's clearly stronger than you."

"What can I say? The Uchiha Clan was born to fight. It's in our blood. Most of the Uchiha members served on the Konoha Police Force." Sasuke smirked. "You're clearly the fool if you do not recognize your superiors."

Naruto snorted. "Superiors? You couldn't even scratch my defenses. Come Uchiha Sasuke, I want to see how long you can keep me entertained."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as a sadistic smirk appeared on his opponent's face. '_I want to see how long you can keep me entertained…'_ Just hearing those words sent chills down his spine. It was as if the man lived to fight…

Aside from the fact that his mind was warning him to be careful, his battle instinct was practically screaming danger. He could tell that this man was different from the rest. His aura said it all.

The opponent standing before him wasn't just your average ninja. He had to be skilled if he was able to knock out two former ANBU and the apprentice to the legendary Slug Sannin with one hit each. As his eyes shifted from the boy's outfit to his fighting style, he noticed something odd about him.

The style his opponent was using was very familiar, almost as if he saw it from somewhere before. He watched as Naruto slid forward, his left leg bent downwards and his left hand curled upwards. It seemed almost… basic…

"Just who the hell are you?" The Uchiha asked.

"I don't give my name to worthless opponents but I'll humor you for today. Remember it well because you'll never forget it. My name is Naruto."

Sasuke then went into the traditional Uchiha Stance. "Let me thank you by showing you why I am one of the top ninjas of this village."

"I'm going to make you eat your words Uchiha."

In an instant, Naruto disappeared from Sasuke's eyes, causing the Uchiha to be momentarily surprised. Sasuke barely twisted his body in time to avoid being stabbed by Naruto's kunai but he didn't stop there. The blond quickly turned his stab into an upward slice but Sasuke saw it coming. Even though his opponent's movements had surpassed his expectations, it wasn't something his eyes couldn't follow.

Using the momentum from Naruto's attack, he pushed himself away, saving himself from being beheaded. As his feet slid across the ground, his body was already in offensive mode. He took out his own kunai and flung it towards Naruto.

"Like that's going to hurt me…"

Smirking silently to himself, Sasuke shouted as his hands went through the necessary hand seals, "**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" One kunai soon multiplied and became hundreds, all flying towards Naruto.

Scoffing at the pathetic attempt, Naruto merely held his hand up as his magical wind barrier surrounded him, parrying the attack.

"Is that it?" His tone was condescending and downright infuriating.

Sasuke stood up, looking at his opponent strangely. "What kind of bloodline is that?" He demanded.

"Bloodline? I wouldn't call it a bloodline but it is _within_ me." That was the blond's reply before he shunshin-ed from his spot.

'_Fast.'_ Sasuke mentally thought as he felt a presence shift behind him. Years of experience had conditioned his body to react instantly. He stepped back subconsciously and caught Naruto's kick in mid-air.

"Too slow." Sasuke saw his chance as he pulled Naruto towards him and rammed his knee against the man's ribs but once again, something solid stopped it from connecting. The Uchiha saw the devious look on Naruto's face and he gritted his teeth in frustration.

"You remind me of someone that I fought a long time ago."

"Oh do tell."

"I kicked his ass all the way back to Suna."

Seeing as how he couldn't penetrate the blond's defense, he changed his original course of attack and spun Naruto around before releasing the grip, allowing his opponent to crash into another empty stall.

Naruto instantly got back up, unfazed and unscathed. It was his wind barrier that protected him from all incoming attacks. Ever since he came to recognize this ability, he was practically untouchable.

"Hey, if you can't break through my defenses, how are you going to show me why you're one of the top ninjas of this village? Does that mean when I beat you senseless, I'm going to be the top ninja in this pathetic excuse of a village?"

"FOOL! I'LL CRUSH YOU!" Sasuke yelled out. He pulled up his sleeves and revealed some strange markings on near his wrists.

"Tattoos? Oh that's so going to scare me."

Sasuke didn't reply to the taunt. It would be better to just show this insolent monkey just who he was dealing with. He was going to show him why he was the called the Genius of the Uchiha.

'_Like some tattoos would be able to scare me. I've seen way scarier shit than that.'_ Thought Naruto mildly as he saw the Uchiha lightly touch his tattoos before a sword materialized right in front of him. "What the hell?"

"If I can't break through that annoying shit, I'm just going to slice it." Sasuke explained. "Kusanagi. The Grass Cutter."

Without another word, Sasuke leaped into the air, the sword raised above his head. Just as Naruto was about to dodge to the side, the Sasuke that was coming towards him disappeared in smoke.

"Bunshin?" Naruto asked, surprised at the move.

"Let's see how tough this barrier truly is…" Sasuke calmly spoke up, his voice appearing from behind Naruto. With no time to dodge, Naruto took out a kunai and blocked the attack.

"Looks like someone is afraid…" Sasuke smirked. "It seems to me that your barrier can be cut…"

"Bastard…" Naruto hissed as he pushed back with his kunai. The combined strength from Naruto took Sasuke by surprise as he felt himself being pushed back. Naruto threw the weapon forward while Sasuke was forced to sidestep the attack.

Dashing forward, Naruto allowed his arms to be flung backwards. This was a basic maneuver that he had once witnessed. It would allow him to dodge quickly as well was retaliate without problems.

Once he was within Sasuke's defenses, the blond landed a palm strike to the Uchiha's chest, following it up with some very basic moves. Sasuke, on the other hand, felt the air being knocked out of his lungs with each blow. It was as if the air was literally being drained from his body.

"Feeling the effects yet Uchiha?"

Going for a desperate maneuver, Sasuke swung his sword forward causing Naruto to jump backwards. "I don't know what you just did but you cannot hide anything from these eyes…"

"Ahhh, the famous Sharingan… I read about them but I never thought that I would actually see one in combat. Let the games truly begin!"

"Rookie… they have already begun." Sasuke stabbed his sword into the ground and whispered, "**Chidori Nagashi.**"

A huge surge of chakra erupted from the sword and before Naruto could react, an enormous electrical current exploded up from the ground, catching him by surprise. Naruto yelled out in agony as he tried to move away but something was preventing him from even stepping outside.

"What… the… hell… you… bastard…" Naruto slowly hissed out, his entire body felt like something was burning him from the inside out.

"Welcome to the world of shinobi. We do not pity our enemies nor do we show them kindness. You let your guard down and you paid for it."

Sasuke dragged his sword forward, keeping the jutsu active. "Walking around like you own the place pisses me off. Out there, you might be somebody but inside these walls. You are NOBODY!"

Proving his point, Sasuke lifted Naruto up by his collar and dragged his face across the ground but the Uchiha didn't stop there. He continued throwing Naruto around, slamming him into various things. Vacant stalls, abandoned houses, fences, whatever he could get his hands on.

"Your cocky attitude pisses me off." Sasuke coldly said before finally slamming Naruto into the ground. "Tch, another loser. I thought he would put up a fight… Keep me entertained… my ass."

Just as Sasuke started walking away, he felt Naruto's dangerous aura flicker and before Sasuke could react, Naruto was already in his face. "I ain't done with your ass yet pretty boy."

People claim that the Sharingan was able to predict your opponent's moves, able to tell the future but nothing could have prevented Sasuke for this. When he thought the fight was over, his opponent bounced right back up and the two were engaged in a high-speed taijutsu match.

Naruto's taijutsu weren't perfect nor were they the best but he was able to effectively utilize them in a fight. Blow for blow, the boys were caught in a stalemate but they didn't stop there. The sheer power behind the blows caused small debris to be thrown away like nothing. Loud noises from the blows could be heard and destruction was everywhere.

Sasuke's anger was clear in his eyes. Every hit that he threw was blocked. Every kick he executed was dodged. This kid wasn't just bluffing about being strong. It wasn't just skill. It was something else. He had the stamina to back it up. That was why he was so strong. The answer finally hit him when he saw Naruto throwing a crazy haymaker that looked like what a fresh genin would use.

"You don't know any taijutsu style."

"What? Of course I know."

"No you don't. You're using Konoha's Academy Taijutsu Style. I was right about you. You're nothing but a rookie."

Proving his point, Sasuke ducked under the haymaker and grabbed Naruto's elbow to slam him into the floor. He quickly twisted the hand and reversed the position. "I knew something was weird when you went into that stance. Tell me who you really are before I snap your arm."

"If I knew what I am, I wouldn't be here now would I? Not all of us are like you Uchiha. I still haven't completed my goal yet."

Naruto felt Sasuke's muscles relaxing a bit and that was all that he needed. He quickly flipped himself over and head butted Sasuke, causing the Uchiha to release his hand. Sasuke leaned backwards and threw a kick that connected with Naruto's jaw. The surprised attacks sent the boys crashing into different buildings respectfully. The impact from each of the boys caused the buildings to crack along the sides but it went unnoticed by the boys.

- - -

_Hokage Tower_

"What are your plans for your little… ticking time bomb?"

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders. "Probably take him on a tour to see the world. Maybe after that, he can find a purpose in life besides revenge."

"And why did you bring him here you old perverted fool!" Tsunade said as she massaged her temples. "You could have taken him to Suna or something. Let them deal with him. I already have enough paperwork on my hands."

"The boy has to find his roots Tsunade. Konoha has been known to bring the best out of people and I figure that he could use it too."

Before Tsunade could reply, the doors to her office slammed open, an anxious chunnin running in. "Tsunade-sama! Uchiha Sasuke and an unknown fighter are currently engaged in battle at the west end of Konoha. They already destroyed that area alone."

"HE WHAT? Who is he fighting?" Tsunade yelled. "I swear if he's fighting Lee again, I'm going to make the both of them do D-Rank missions for a year."

"Someone with blond hair and some kind markings on his cheeks." The chunnin replied as she flipped through the report.

"Blond hair… Markings on his cheeks? Why does that sound familiar?"

While Tsunade was pondering on her question, Jiraiya already knew the answer, which was why he was slowly walking towards the window.

"Where have I seen that before…?"

Just as Jiraiya was about to open the window and step outside, Tsunade slammed her fist on the table.

"DAMN IT JIRAIYA!" The Godaime Hokage yelled out. "I WARNED YOU ABOUT THAT KID!" She quickly turned around and before her teammate could pull his disappearing act, she grabbed him by the collar and threw him through the wall.

"When I get back, I want to see this mess cleaned up! You got that?"

"H-h-hai!" The chunnin replied.

- - -

_Konoha Marketplace_

"Sakura… Sakura… Wake up."

The pink-haired medic nin stirred around before opening her eyes. "Huh…? Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, her head throbbing like crazy. It took her a few seconds before remembering what just occurred and why she was knocked out in the first place.

"Kakashi-sensei! We have a spy running around in the village and he's strong!"

"Well… I got news for you Sakura… The spy's still here…"

"Huh?" The medic turned around and her eyes widened when she witnessed the entire west region laid down in ruins. Before she could take a closer look, the sound of another building crumbled and Sasuke was sent flying past Kakashi and Sakura.

"Sas…uke-kun?"

"Hm… Yes. I do believe that was Sasuke flying past us."

"COME BACK HERE UCHIHA!" A loud maniacal voice yelled out. Before Kakashi and Sakura could react, the person who slammed Sasuke through a wall ran past them at high speeds, only the after image of his golden color hair remained.

"That's the spy Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted, pointing at where she last saw the spy. She tried getting back on her feet but her knees gave away but before she fell, a pair of wooden poles came out and caught her. "Thanks Yamato-sensei."

"No problem Sakura. Yo Kakashi-sempai." Yamato greeted as he appeared from the ground.

"Yo Yamato. What's going on here?"

"You have to help Sasuke-kun!" Sakura interrupted. She winced as she saw the blond person slam his fist into Sasuke's face. Sasuke in return spat the blood from his mouth into Naruto's eyes, causing him to be momentarily blinded. Using this as an opportunity, he flipped through a series of hand seals before holding it to his mouth.

"**Katon: Karyuuwa**"

The group watched as Naruto was blown backwards by a mighty fire dragon.

"I don't think Sasuke needs our help Sakura."

"Are you kidding me? If you won't help him fine but I can't just stand here and not help!" Before the medic could rush off, Kakashi and Yamato both stopped her, their hand on her shoulders.

"Wait a minute Sakura. Just watch Sasuke. Even though he's bruised and bleeding from various places, he's enjoying himself immensely. Not even during our spars have I seen him this happy." Kakashi pointed out. "Ever since he killed Itachi, he hasn't been the same. The spark from within Sasuke's soul was diminished but after witnessing this battle, I say this stranger has reignited that fire."

Sakura remained silent as she observed her teammate in action. It was true that he was somewhat having fun. Despite all the wounds, she could see him smiling deep inside. A person could mask many things but a body cannot hide its emotions. "You're right… he is having fun…" She quietly commented.

"Kakashi-sempai, do you know who this boy is?"

The ex-ANBU nin shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine…"

- - -

"**Katon: Karyuu Endan**"

Naruto saw the incoming fire dragon and rolled to one side, barely dodging the scorching attack. "Bastard…" He muttered.

"What's the matter rookie? I've been showing off my jutsus but you haven't returned the favor. Why don't you show me something?"

"I don't want to."

"You can't, can you? You're nothing but a street thug. There's nothing you can hide from these eyes…"

"Then I guess I have to surpass those eyes!" Naruto reached deep into his pockets and within moments, he dashed forward, his hands still by his side. "Watch and learn Uchiha why those eyes are yours are merely tools and not an asset."

"Asset? What does he mean by that Kakashi-sensei? Does he know something about the Sharingan that even Sasuke-kun doesn't?"

Kakashi scratched his head and lifted up his hitai-ate, revealing his own sharingan. "I don't know Sakura but I think we're about to find out…"

The spectators that stood by the sidelines waited anxiously to see if the mysterious blond fighter could back up his words.

Sasuke watched as Naruto came closer, his eyes focused on the blond. "My Sharingan is more than a tool. They are the ultimate doujutsu in Konoha. Only a simpleton like you cannot comprehend the true power behind these eyes."

The Uchiha quickly touched his wrists again and this time, a pair of Fuma Shurikens materialized in front of him. Sasuke grabbed hold of his favorite weapon and tossed it with all his might at the incoming blond.

Naruto leaped into the air, twisting his body like a miniature bullet to avoid the projectiles but he didn't stop there. As soon as he landed on his feet, he continued towards an anticipating Sasuke. When he was close enough, Sasuke smirked and tugged on his fingers.

"Fool. You're as good as dead."

From the corner of Naruto's eyes, he caught the glimpse of a small silver wire attached to the Fuma Shurikens and he instantly knew what Sasuke had planned.

"I thought I told you that you were supposed to entertain me. Not the other way around."

Just as the projectiles came flying back, the victory smirk on Sasuke's face quickly turned into a scowl when his attack failed due to the reappearance of Naruto's wind barrier.

"You naïve fool. Let me show you why you're eyes are a tool."

True to his word, Naruto threw something from his hands towards Sasuke. Small pellets of some sort hit the Uchiha on the chest, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "These are supposed to defeat me? What the hell -"

Before Sasuke could continue, the pellets that bounced off his chest exploded into a cloud of red smoke. As soon as the smoke reached Sasuke's eyes, he began screaming in pain.

"The fun's just begun." Wasting no time, Naruto ran into the smoke barrier and found Sasuke standing there dazed. Naruto spun around and executed a roundhouse kick to the Uchiha's face but he didn't stop there. The kicks connected with the Sasuke's chest and then quickly moved onto his ribs and then his face. He continued the assault a few more times before leaping into the air, finishing his attack sequence with a knee smash to the face, sending the Uchiha through the smoke and crashing through a nearby fence.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO SASUKE-KUN?" Sakura screeched out as she pointed at Naruto. "YOU DIRTY LITTLE CHEATER!"

"Ho ho ho. I see you used it gaki." Jiraiya's voice spoke up, interrupting Naruto from commenting.

Sakura turned around and surprised to see her master and her teammate standing right behind her.

"Shishou! Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura greeted.

"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama." The rest answered.

"I warned you Jiraiya and now look at what he did. He literally destroyed the west region! Think about the goddamn paperwork I'm going to have to do." Tsunade growled out as she lifted Jiraiya by the collar. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't murder him right now."

"Ehehe…" Jiraiya weakly chuckled out. "Because you love me?"

"Wrong answer!"

Jiraiya found himself on a one-way trip through the cloud of smoke and landed face first on the ground. "GAKIIIIII." Jiraiya's yell echoed through the smoke. "IT BURNSSSSS."

Tsunade panted and dusted her hands as she glared at her teammate. "Excuse me Hokage-sama but just who is that kid fighting with Sasuke."

"Some gaki the pervert found." She retorted. "Kakashi… Why aren't you breaking up this fight?"

"I was derailed by a lost penguin that wanted to return to the north pole. It asked me for some directions and begged me with its little beady eyes. How could I resist something like that Tsunade-sama?"

"Hey teme!" Naruto picked Sasuke's body up from the fence. "I thought you were one of the best here. Kinda pathetic to have been beaten by an outsider don't you say?"

To his surprise, the Sasuke that he was holding onto disappeared into smoke, revealing a piece of the broken fence. "Huh?"

"Behind you rookie." Naruto twisted his body and found Sasuke already coming towards him with a club of some sort.

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Tsunade angrily shouted. This was way out of hand. Even by her standards.

The boys stopped in their tracks, Sasuke's club inches away from belting Naruto while the blond stood there with an emotionless expression on his face. They turned their attention towards Tsunade and glared. "_Butt out_…" Both of them answered in unison as killing intent leaked out.

Tsunade took a step back, feeling a loss of breath as the killing intent subdued and the two resumed fighting.

"Forget it Tsunade, those two are lost in the ecstasy of fighting. They won't stop until both of them are satisfied."

"I knew a little thing like that wouldn't keep you down. Explain yourself Jiraiya."

Jiraiya sighed, "Why explain when you can see it for yourself. Just take a good look at those two. At the level they're fighting, I doubt any of us could match them. Both of them are displaying the potential to be jounin in this fight. Just look at the way their battle is turning out."

"Excuse me Jiraiya-sama but who is this kid? Just how is he able to match Sasuke in skill?"

"Ah Yamato. Good to see you again." Jiraiya replied. "Well the kid is my new apprentice. His name is Naruto."

"Which village is he from?" Kakashi asked, speaking out his thoughts. "From what I've seen earlier, he has no basic training besides academy level taijutsu."

"And he's fighting evenly with Sasuke? THAT'S MY APPRENTICE FOR YOU!" Jiraiya shouted happily. "To answer your question, Naruto's not from any village. I found him on my travels and I only gave him a year of basic training. Everything else is all him."

"**Doton: Doryuusan.**" The crowd heard Sasuke yelling out the name of his technique. The group watched as a mighty dragon soared from the ground and charged towards Naruto.

"Heh. Just watch what the gaki can do."

Naruto unleashed a primeval roar as he thrust his palms forward. "**Air Essence: Gufuukara.**"

The force from Naruto's attack instantly destroyed Sasuke's earth dragon, sending debris all over the place.

"What the hell was that?"

"Looks like the gaki learned a new move." Jiraiya explained. "From a researcher's point of view, he channeled the air pressure around him and combined it into a highly pressurize beam."

"I will admit rookie, you have some skill. I didn't think you could pull that off but it ends now." Sasuke kicked several broken clumps of dirt into the air and flipped through another series of hand seals.

"**Katon: Karyuudan.**"

Naruto gritted his teeth as he concentrated some chakra to his legs, barely maneuvering through the onslaught and landing on the opposite side of the field. Just when he thought he was safe, he felt someone touching his shoulder and turned around.

"Tsukuyomi" Sasuke's hallow voice whispered. Naruto suddenly found the world he was accustomed to changing, white and clear blue skies changing into dark red skies.

"Welcome to my world Naruto." Sasuke said, walking up to Naruto. "In here, you're mine for the next seventy-two hours. Nothing in here can save you from the torture." While Sasuke was talking, he failed to notice the smile on Naruto's face. "It ends here."

"Oh. Crap." Jiraiya suddenly said. "Tell me Sasuke did not just use the Tsukuyomi on Naruto."

"He just did. Why? Is something wrong?" Kakashi casually asked. His eyes glued to the match.

"Though Naruto has no skills as a ninja, he is a genius at figuring things out and because of what he is; Tsukuyomi unleashes everything inside of Naruto." He caught Tsunade's shocked expression and nodded. "Everything…"

"In here, I control everything. I control time, I control pain." Sasuke held out his hand as the Kusanagi dropped from the sky. He took a swing at Naruto, the strike aimed at the chest area but before the attack could connect, a metallic color object shaped like a door appeared in front of Naruto, stopping the attack.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he felt his sword bouncing off the screen. Slightly bewildered at this slight interruption, he frowned and tried again but this time, he lunged forward, hoping to pierce it. The results were still the same, no matter how many times he tried. Getting frustrated, he threw his sword on the ground and glared at Naruto. "How the hell are you doing this?"

"Doing what Uchiha?" Naruto innocently responded.

"THIS!" Sasuke angrily yelled out. He threw the Kusanagi at Naruto and watched it harmlessly bounce off the blond. "How come I was able to cut it before and now, I couldn't even touch it?"

Naruto merely smiled as he raised his head, a cold empty look in his eyes. "I'm not alone in here Uchiha. Say hello to Fujin…"

As soon as Naruto said the name, a mythical creature straight from the folktales emerged from the dissolving wind.

"Mortal, you dare harm my charge?" Fujin asked, his voice laced with authority. "For your insolence, I shall dispel this illusion technique of yours."

Sasuke looked on in horror as the creature dressed in leopard clothing open the bag that was on his shoulders and within moments, the world of Tsukuyomi came crashing down and Sasuke was sent to his knees, the chakra being drained from him.

"It's here…" Jiraiya commented when he saw Sasuke drop to the floor.

"He-he-he actually broke the Tsukuyomi. The kid actually broke the strongest genjutsu known to man on his own." Tsunade stuttered out.

"Wait. There's something wrong here." Kakashi spoke up. In his sharingan eye, he could still see specks of chakra lingering in the air, almost as if there was something standing in front of Naruto. "There's something almost invisible among us."

Everyone turned to Jiraiya, wanting the man's explanation. The Toad Sannin scratched his head, unsure on how to answer them. "No comment." He finally answered. It was probably best for the gaki to explain it to them. It wasn't his story to tell.

"Are you sure we should let him live Naruto?" Fujin asked, standing there with his arms folded. "He could be dangerous in the future."

Naruto responded by shaking his head. "If you kill him now, I would have an entire army on me. Maybe next time Fujin."

"As you wish." The wind deity said as he disappeared in a small tornado, returning back to the spiritual plane from which it once came from.

"You have seen what I can do Uchiha. Do you wish to continue?"

"Bite me rookie. Running away in the face of an enemy is a disgrace to my pride as a member of the Uchiha Clan. I would rather die before I escape from you." His words showed no fear despite being almost out of chakra, and on top of that, his body was in pain. "I don't know how you broke out of the Tsukuyomi but as I said before, we're ending this now."

"I couldn't agree more otouto…" Naruto replied but not in his regular voice. This voice was somewhat deeper than usual.

"It-Itachi?" Sasuke's eyes widened. "How the hell are you here? I KILLED YOU!"

"You can't kill me that easily…"

"I watched you die in front of me. I saw you die you bastard. DON'T MESS WITH ME!"

"Are you sure otouto? Are you sure that you're not trapped in my Tsukuyomi?"

At this point, Sasuke began losing focus, his eyes on the verge of reverting back to their original state. "Is it real… or is it fake…?" He whispered out. Was everything that he lived for just a lie shaped by the Tsukuyomi?

Was he really trapped in an illusion all this time? Was he actually an illusion of his real self? Sasuke clutched his head in pain as he tried to straighten himself out.

"Ha ha ha. That's rich. I never thought the Uchiha brat would fall for a trick like that." Jiraiya laughed out loud.

"Why does he sound like Itachi? How the hell does he even know what Itachi sounds like?" Sakura shouted. "He's an outsider; he shouldn't know anything about the Uchiha Clan."

"Sakura's right Jiraiya. How does he know so much about something that doesn't concern him?" Tsunade asked, voicing her concerns. "The Uchiha Clan originated from Konoha. There was no way he could have found information outside these walls."

"That's because he read my scrolls. In there, I took extensive notes about the Uchiha Clan and the Sharingan. After the gaki read it, he realized that it was pointless information since he would never have to fight any Sharingan user but I guess he was wrong."

"You have scrolls… detailed scrolls… about the sharingan. Why's that, if I may ask?"

"Personal reasons, of course." The Toad Sannin answered. "I had to be prepared incase I had to fight a Sharingan user in the future. No offense Kakashi."

Kakashi waved his hands, disregarding the issue. "No problem Jiraiya-sama." Even though the issue with Jiraiya's scroll didn't bother him one bit, the thing that troubled him was how the boy was able to match Sasuke evenly. This could be troublesome…

"DIE ITACHI." Sasuke screamed out as he stood up. His eyes changed from their onyx state into the Sharingan but it didn't stop there. Slowly but surely, they were changing into the Mangekyo, a feat that not even Sasuke himself realizes.

Seeing Sasuke's eyes change before him startled Naruto. He wasn't prepared for any of this. Nowhere in the notes did it mention that the Uchiha was able to go to the next stage.

"**RAIKIRI!**" A bright flash erupted from Sasuke's hand as more and more chakra was being pumped into it.

"WAIT SASUKE!" Kakashi yelled out. This was bad. Too much chakra focused into the Raikiri could result in an electrical backlash and in the worst-case scenario; Sasuke could blow off his own hand.

Kakashi's warning fell upon death ears as Sasuke ran forward, intending on killing Naruto. The masked ninja wanted to run in and knock his student out but he was unable to. Jiraiya grabbed his wrist before he was able to take another step.

"Did you think for a second that Sasuke could actually kill Naruto?"

"That's a Rank S assassination technique. I don't care if the kid's at a Kage level but if he gets hit with it, it's guarantee death!"

"You worry too much Kakashi." Jiraiya pulled the jounin back and forced him to stay still. "Just watch and see with your own eyes that a misfit with no formal training can even defeat the mightiest of warriors."

Naruto's eyes suddenly began glowing as the winds around him shifted, causing the dirt to be lifted from the ground. He didn't know how but his hands were suddenly moving on their own, recalling the same hand techniques that Sasuke did earlier. When he finished with the last seal, he lowered his palm and concentrated.

"He copied the Raikiri just like that?" Yamato asked, amazed. "He doesn't have the Sharingan either."

Sasuke ignored the fact and rammed his hand forward but to his surprise, Naruto also did the same and the two were locked in a stalemate. Lighting crackled from Sasuke's hand while there was nothing there on Naruto's.

"It's over for Sasuke." Jiraiya answered after realizing what Naruto did.

"Wait. How did he stop Sasuke-kun's attack? It's a freaking Rank S technique that's able to pierce through anything." Sakura rudely asked. "How did someone like him stop it?"

"Haha, what a naïve girl. You got a stupid apprentice there Tsunade." Jiraiya laughed. The old pervert wiped the small tears from his eyes. "Naruto is a master of the wind. It may seem like Naruto copied the Raikiri off from Sasuke but there's a major difference. Naruto's not a lighting affinity so it's natural that he wouldn't be able to reproduce the technique but instead, he created his own version. If you take a closer look, you could see his entire hand surrounded by thick layers of wind."

"But that doesn't explain anything. How could wind stop lightning?"

"Ancient mythologies claim that the god of wind, Fujin was the older brother of the thunder siblings. It was believed that since Fujin was the eldest brother, he had control over the actions of his younger brother, Raijin, the god of thunder…"

"I see…" Tsunade then snapped her fingers. "The kid's wind affinity overrides Sasuke's lightning affinity."

"True but it doesn't stop there."

"How…" Sasuke asked tiredly. "How are you even doing this?" He just didn't have the energy anymore. After he unconsciously pumped all of his chakra into his last attack, his body was only staying mobile by his sheer willpower alone.

"Because I can." Naruto replied. The lightning chakra that was once in Sasuke's hand began disappearing and slowly started to transfer over to Naruto's hand. The Uchiha's eyes widened in utter disbelief, before faltering at his severe lack of chakra. "Night's out loser."

Unable to register Naruto's words completely, the only thing Sasuke could remember was a sharp pain coming from his chest as he flew backwards, already unconscious by the time his body crashed through several walls.

"That was unexpected…" Jiraiya commented. "I didn't actually see that one coming…"

Aside from Jiraiya being the only one able to move, the rest were gawking at the earlier display.

Naruto sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "That didn't even entertain me long enough. What a waste of my time." He turned his head and then noticed that everyone else was standing there staring at him. Shrugging at their stupidity, he merely turned around and disappeared, not wanting to deal with them.

"Jiraiya…" Tsunade began speaking. "Who the hell is going to clean up this mess?"

"Uh…" Jiraiya began sweating bullets. "LOOK SASUKE'S GETTING UP!" Clearly using that as a diversion to make his getaway, imagine his surprise when only Sakura turned her head. Much to his disappointment, he was left for the cleanup crew.

- - -

Elsewhere on the roof of an apartment building, Naruto stood at the edge, his vision overlooking the area. The bruises that he suffered from the earlier fight slowly fading away to nothingness. The only thing on his mind was his abilities. Just how was he able to copy the Uchiha's attack and replicate it? It had never happened before.

This was also the first time he actually spoke with Fujin outside his mind. Even now, he could feel the presence of Fujin but it didn't bother him much. Fujin was apart of him just as he was apart of Fujin.

"The winds of time are changing… The objects that were once set in stone are already moving…"

A voice in the wind echoed.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I did. You get a taste of what power Naruto has and what his abilities are.

I know you are all wondering what the future of this story is going to be and I can safely tell you, without giving away the plot, that it will of course involves the prophecy. I know a lot of people out there were sad that Itachi died but it will serve merit later on.

The following chapters will revolve around Naruto for a bit and the interactions with several people. I know you're all waiting for it so I won't keep you all waiting. In fact, I don't take a month to update ;P. I'll try to do it more often.

Again, the Gundam similarity stops on the first chapter, with the name. Gundam has its own universe and I will not incorporate any ideas from the Gundam Canon Universe. It just doesnt fit here. As for what kind of person Naruto will turn out to be, it'll be a secret for now. Too much spoiler is bad for your health.

Some of you have been asking for pairings and honestly, I don't have any pairing in mind right now. I don't think I will pair him up with anyone. I just don't know. Only time will tell. I hope that doesn't discourage anyone to stop reading but if it does, I'm sorry.

Techniques: In here, all these are my own creations which I have thought up or I might have thought up.

**Katon: Karyuuwa - Fire Dragon Wheel (Unique)  
Air Essence: Gufuukara - Tornado Vacuum (Unique)  
Katon: Karyuudan - Fire Dragon Projectile (Unique)**


	4. Who is that man

It's been a long time huh? Sorry about that.

I like to thank all the readers and reviewers for taking their time and reading the story.

Also like to shout out a big thanks to Wilson for betaing this chapter.

* * *

"Do you feel any remorse for your actions, boy?" An angry Godaime Hokage asked. "Do you have any _idea_ what you have done?"

"Do you _actually _think I give a shit?" Naruto retorted.

His response earned him a murderous glare from Tsunade while Jiraiya laughed from the sidelines.

"This isn't my village, I have no allegiance here. Kiri could be invading and I wouldn't give a damn. There is nothing in this village that concerns me."

Angered by the boy's arrogant words, Tsunade felt her patience reaching its limit. Any second now, she was ready to smash her fist into that brat's face. "A hundred million in damages, first degree criminal charges of assault on several Konoha Ninjas and a civilian. You're looking at forty years minimum in prison, boy."

"Again, does it look like that I give a shit about what you say?" said Naruto as he leaned against the wall.

They were currently in the Hokage's office; just he, Jiraiya and one pissed off Tsunade. After his last exhibit, Tsunade appeared behind him and personally dragged him off to her office, where he stayed for the past three hours, listening to her lecturing him.

"Your laws only apply to ninjas that associate themselves with a village. I am neither a ninja of your village nor any other village. Stop wasting both my time and yours and just let me go. You have no jurisdiction over me. You never _have _and never _will._"

When he got no response from the Godaime Hokage, he silently patted himself on the back. All those scrolls about politics that he received from Jiraiya were finally paying off. Before today, he saw them as useless and pointless but now, they were actually useful.

"Jiraiya…" Tsunade slowly growled, turning her attention to her teammate. "Did you teach this boy politics as well?"

The Toad Sannin rubbed his chin slowly, recalling the materials that he left the boy. "Maybe I did or maybe I didn't. I can't really remember…"

Tsunade frowned. "May I remind you that since the boy is still a minor, you are responsible for his actions?"

Jiraiya's ears perked up when he heard the words minor and responsible. Those were two words that no single bachelor would ever want to hear from a woman's mouth. "Wait! What?" He said, his mind frantically telling him to stay awake for the next part of the conversation.

The Godaime grinned as she enjoyed her position right now. Her eyes wandered from Jiraiya to Naruto, both men looking slightly nervous. She could see it more in Jiraiya than Naruto. They were twitching… It would seem like she found a loophole that neither of them knew about.

"Ah yes…" Tsunade coughed, clearing her throat. "According to paragraph forty-five, section twenty… if the criminal is indeed a minor and has a suitable guardian, whether it be a parent or a master, the guardian will act in the minor's place if the minor cannot take the punishment."

"So let my _guardian_ handle the mess…"

"Shut your trap gaki!" Jiraiya yelled from across the room. The Sannin was on his feet, his eyes bulging out at the new piece of information. He couldn't believe that he was going to be held responsible for Naruto's actions. He turned to Tsunade, who was leaning into her chair with a smug look on her face.

"Tsunade-hime…" Jiraiya sweetly said. "The boy meant no harm… You do remember that he was provoked first right? You know of his history, his background information. Surely you can let him slide just this once…"

When Jiraiya saw the smile still on his teammate's face, he knew he wasn't going to talk his way out of this one. Forty years in jail was a pretty long time… and that was just the minimum.

"Well…" Tsunade began to speak. "Maybe I could do something for you if you do something for me…"

"Anything. Just name it Tsunade." Jiraiya hastily answered, not taking the time to think about the consequences.

"No way in hell." Naruto answered, interrupting Jiraiya.

"Shut up boy!" Jiraiya responded as he threw his apprentice a look that said '_I will kill you later_'. "Let's discuss this proposal like grown-ups shall we?"

Tsunade smiled as she laced her fingers together and positioned them on the table. "I want you back on the active duty list as one of my personal ninjas Jiraiya. You will answer to me and only me."

"Done!" Jiraiya happily replied. He can live with that, Anything but a lifetime in prison. Jiraiya was about to shake on it when he noticed that Tsunade wasn't doing the same thing.

"I want Naruto to be on that list as well." The Godaime suddenly said, surprising the both of them.

"Like hell I will." Naruto snorted. "You just want me in your ranks because you saw what I can do. You know what I'm capable of and you're afraid… so very afraid that you would end up fighting against me."

At this point, Jiraiya was practically hyperventilating, his mouth wide open at his apprentice's bold statements. His eyes strayed between his apprentice and his teammate, knowing what kind of temper she had but what she did next surprised him.

Tsunade didn't lash back at the boy nor did she use any attempt of violence. She merely smiled and looked the boy in the eyes. "I can offer you something that no one else can, Naruto. I can offer you information…"

Naruto remained motionless, the word 'information' caught his ears and he was giving the Hokage his undivided attention. "Go on…"

"I know you're looking for Jin Hibiki and I have his files somewhere in this office. Become a Konoha Ninja and I'll grant you access to his files and whatever files you need."

"And if I don't find the information that I'm seeking?"

"Then you can leave the village after six months of service."

Naruto took a moment to carefully studying the Godaime's motives. When he couldn't find anything, he reluctantly held out his hand, intending to close the deal.

Tsunade smiled as she reached forward, shaking his hand. "Wise choice, boy."

Naruto started walking away but just as he was about to reach the door, he stopped and turned his head, his cold eyes staring right back at the Hokage. "If you try to pull any dirty tricks, I will be at your door faster than the Shinigami can send your soul off."

For a split second there, Jiraiya and Tsunade could have both swore that they saw Minato walking out but after the door closed, they rubbed their eyes, deciding that it was only an illusion.

"Do you think that was…"

"Nah. Couldn't be…"

- - -

Naruto walked out of the office, making his way down the stairs. His wind aura twisted violently around him, putting small but deep scratches against the wall.

"Hey, don't you think you caused enough damage for one day?"

Naruto looked up and saw that the voice came from one Hakate Kakashi, one of the ninjas that was present during his little exhibition match with Uchiha Sasuke.

"What does it matter to you?"

"I don't really care…" Kakashi replied. "I'm only here to deliver a status report that Tsunade-sama requested."

"Then get out of my way." Naruto rudely said. He marched past Kakashi but when he walked past the jounin, the two exchanged glances.

Kakashi's single black eye met Naruto's cold cerulean blue.

In the world of ninja, one glance was enough to determine the level of skill. It was even said that Hokage had the ability to measure a person's potential.

To be able to judge a person's skill demonstrated the experience of a seasoned ninja.

Knowing when to pick a winning battle or a losing fight determined a ninja's life span.

As Kakashi stared into Naruto's cold blue cerulean orbs, he felt himself being sucked in, as if his soul was being ripped out. For what seemed to be an eternity occurred in a matter of seconds. When Kakashi finally blinked, he saw that Naruto was already down the stairs, leaving the building.

"Just what is he…?" The copy ninja muttered as he made his way to the Hokage's office. "Tsunade-sama, I have the reports you requested." Kakashi announced as he entered the office.

"You're exactly an hour late Kakashi. Why can't you be on time for once?"

Kakashi shrugged. "A raging whirlwind stopped me from making it on time Tsunade-sama."

"Whatever. Spare me your excuses. How is Sasuke doing?"

"Aside from the broken and fractured bones, bruises and internal bleeding, he's as good as any other ninja."

"He suffered all that during one battle?" Tsunade asked, shocked at the news. "How was he still able to fight?"

"Apparently, he didn't feel any of it. The only thing that is hurting him now is his ego. That boy damaged his pride and ego pretty badly."

"Haha." Jiraiya laughed. "That's my apprentice for you. Never leave a job unfinished."

Tsunade started flipping through the medical report that Kakashi just handed to her. Her eyes skimmed the reports, only reading the sections that she was interested in. "A shattered wrist bone…"

After a few more minutes reading, Tsunade put the report down and sighed. "What do you think of that boy's skill Kakashi?"

The Copy Ninja picked his nose up from his book that magically appeared and stared at his Hokage. "Hard to tell Tsunade-sama. We should give him the jounin test to be sure."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes, "Just take my word for it and make him a jounin. It'll be better for you in the long run."

Tsunade shook her head, "No… I'm going to make him suffer…" She chuckled mischievously. "And I just know the people to do it…"

- - -

"So… Did you hear what happened?"

"You know I don't believe in any of those rumors Shikamaru." A smoking Jounin replied. He took another puff of his cigarette before exhaling deeply. "I'll believe it when I see it with my own eyes."

"What rumors are you talking about?" A raven-haired beauty asked as she joined the group, wrapping her arms around the cigarette smoking Jounin. "What else besides sitting here did you lazy bums do today?"

"Kurenai-san." The group casually greeted.

"Rumor has it that Sasuke got his ass handed to him by some stranger."

"HA. As if. Sasuke is one of the top ninjas in this village. There is no way he could have lost. Right Akamaru?"

The dog picked up his head from the floor and barked, agreeing with his master.

"Kiba, just because you lost to Sasuke during your Chuunin Exams does not mean Sasuke is superior."

"Shut your face Neji. If I didn't get knocked out, I could have easily taken you on."

The Hyuuga Prodigy calmly sipped his tea as he chuckled, "It's been a long time since all of the rookies gathered in one place."

The Rookie 9. That was the name given to this generation of rookies. It wasn't because there were nine of them; it was because they were the best of the best. They had the skills of a Chuunin way before they took their exams, putting them well above all other generations of genin before them. They had set the bar for future generations with their level of skill and determination.

"Yosh Neji! It has been a long time. I can see that your flames of youth have not withered a bit!"

"Mou Lee! Can you not shout inside the restaurant?" Tenten said as she slapped Lee across the head.

"What was this about a rumor Shikamaru?" Shino asked.

The Nara heir lazily waved his hand as he leaned into his seat, closing his eyes. "I was just near the hospital when I overheard several nurses talking about Sasuke's condition. Long story short, someone beat the crap out of Sasuke."

"What do you think about that Asuma?" Kurenai asked. "Sasuke is one of the top ninjas in this village and next in line for the position of Kage."

Asuma took another puff of his cigarette before answering, "Hard to say. From what I heard, it was a one-sided battle. This stranger, if he went all out, could have easily wiped the floor with him."

"Then do you know who that person is Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.

"No one knows who this person is Ino. From what I gathered, no one recognized him."

"Are you sure?" Ino asked again, this time narrowing her eyes.

Asuma made the mistake of actually looking into the Yamanaka heir's eyes. His former student was now the apprentice of Morino Ibiki, the torture and information specialist. Unable to escape her gaze, he reluctantly gave in.

"He's about 5' 11 and has blond hair." The Jounin quickly answered. "Damn it Ino. Stop doing that." Asuma cursed, rubbing his eyes.

"Ooo a cutie!" Ino squealed. "We should go find this stranger Hinata!"

"If no one recognized him, it's safe to assume that he's a foreign ninja. We should be careful." The Hyuuga mistress argued. "He could be dangerous…"

"I'm afraid Hinata will have to join you later Ino. Team 8 will be working on a new formation today." Kurenai spoke up, interrupting Ino.

Ino pouted as she folded her arms against her chest. "Fine. I'll go scope him out myself!" She waved the group goodbye as she exited the restaurant.

"Do you think it was wise to let her go off by herself Asuma?" Kurenai asked, slightly concerned for the girl.

Asuma shrugged his shoulders. "Does anyone else object to letting her go off alone?"

All the males in the vicinity shrugged their shoulders, not caring. Asuma smiled when he saw the results. "No one cares." He laughed.

"Men…" Kurenai muttered as she stood up. "Team 8, let's go." She gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheeks. "I'll see you later…" She whispered into his ears.

Shikamaru smirked when he saw his sensei's blush. "Whipped."

Asuma coughed as he glared at his student. "Sh-Shut up!"

- - -

"What are we doing here?" Naruto asked. He looked around the area and concluded that this does not look like the library that Jiraiya spoke off. In fact, they were completely surrounded by a sea of trees.

Based on his current situation and the way his master was looking around, avoiding his eyes, Naruto came to a conclusion. "You lied, you dirty old pervert…"

Jiraiya coughed, clearing his throat. "Never mind the library Naruto. Starting today, I will be teaching you, training you to be a ninja. I cannot let my apprentice be left defenseless in the midst of battle. After I'm done training you, you will be feared throughout the ninja world."

"Defenseless?" Naruto snorted. "If I had any type of formal training, I could have beaten the Uchiha faster."

"Getting back on topic, I have in my hands several scrolls that I think you should read and practice. I know that you know very little ninjutsu and your genjutsu is below average genin level. I cannot have my apprentice be seen as weak and useless."

Naruto found his attention wandering as his mentor rambled on about his training schedule. It wasn't that Jiraiya was boring; it was because there was something else. His mind kept going back to those files that Tsunade has promised him. Whoever this Jin Hibiki was, he better be hidden somewhere that not even the shinigami could find him.

Just as he turned his attention back to his current sensei, he raised his arms in time to catch several scrolls. "What's this?" Naruto asked.

"Kage Bunshin, a rank A level jutsu and some taijutsu scrolls. I'm not sure if reading those taijutsu scrolls would be beneficial to you but knowing you, I have been wrong before. Stay here and practice. I'm going to find you someone who can help with your genjutsu weakness."

"I don't need help. Genjutsu has no effect on me. You know that." After his experience with the Uchiha's Genjutsu, Naruto realized that if the ultimate Genjutsu had no effect on him, then no other genjutsu would affect him anyway.

"Regardless, I'll be back in an hour." Jiraiya said. Knowing that his student could finish the task in a matter of a few minutes, he wanted to be sure that Naruto was able to master it. If he was able to understand the hidden meaning behind the Kage Bunshin scroll, he would be able to speed up his training by more than half of the required time.

Naruto grumbled as he opened the first scroll and began reading. "Kage Bunshin, the ability to create solid living clones…"

- - -

"Why are we doing this again Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba loudly asked. "We're the best tracking team that Konoha ever produced. There is no one better than us out there. With my nose, Hinata's vision and Shino's bugs, we're unstoppable." He boasted.

Kurenai smiled. "I'm glad that you have a lot of faith in your teammates but that doesn't mean that you're the best. There are much stronger ninjas out there, waiting to prove that their better. It'll be beneficial for us if we have more strategies."

While she was glad that her team was in high spirits, the thought of having a foreign ninja in the village displeases her greatly. Kurenai was a kunoichi who took her job seriously. She was never the fan girl type and through her hard work and dedication, she earned herself the title as the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha. A worthy title that she was proud of.

Akamaru started to growl as Team 8 reached their usual training field. "What's that boy? You don't recognize the stranger?" Kiba asked, petting his partner's head. "You're right, I don't recognize him either."

Shino pushed his glasses up as he observed the stranger from the distance. "Maybe we should ask him politely to leave."

"Never mind that. He's invading our territory." Kiba replied. "HEY YOU! YOU'RE IN OUR TRAINING FIELD!"

"Kiba!" Kurenai scolded. "That's not polite."

To their surprise, the stranger ignored them and continued with whatever he was doing. Kiba grinned, showing off his canines as he rubbed his hands together. "Oh, a wise aleck huh? Let's show him a thing or two Akamaru."

His partner responded with a bark and the two leaped towards the stranger. When Kiba landed, Naruto ignored his presence, his attention focused on the scroll. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Kiba angrily shouted.

Naruto turned his head and looked unimpressed. "Huh? A mutt and its owner? Get lost. I don't have time to entertain you. I'm busy."

Already angered by the stranger's words, Kiba threw a hard right but before it could connect, Naruto twisted his body sideways, avoiding the attack. "You're aggressively attacking... You're the powerhouse of the team aren't you?"

Kiba didn't respond as he turned around and came back with another punch. Naruto sighed as he lowered his hand. Just like before, he sidestepped the attack but this time, connected his fist with Kiba's stomach, sending him straight to the ground.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata shouted as she ran over to his side. "Are you okay?"

Kiba grunted as he let Hinata support him up. "He doesn't have a hitai-ate Hinata… Be careful, he might be some kind of spy."

Hinata looked up and saw that Kiba was right. The man had no hitai-ate on him. "Shino-kun."

The Aburame heir nodded his head as he appeared from behind Naruto. "Surrender stranger. Turn yourself in peacefully or we will restraint you by force."

Naruto scoffed at the pathetic attempt. "You guys interrupted my training time first. I'll give you three seconds to disappear before I make you all disappear."

From afar, Kurenai stayed hidden, watching and observing the enemy. This was a good opportunity for her team to take down this ninja by themselves and for her to study his movements. She can move in if they needed help.

"Alpha. Omega. Beta." Shino stated as Hinata and Kiba disappeared from their spot along with Shino.

Hearing the sound of rustling leaves, Naruto looked up to see Kiba and Akamaru flying over him. "Gagsuga!" The Inuzuka heir yelled.

Naruto jumped backwards to avoid the attack but not before Shino struck his arms up from the ground, latching themselves onto Naruto's ankles. Shino's head then popped up from the ground, "Go Hinata! Get him now!"

"You're within my Range of Divination." The Hyuuga Mistress stated as she slipped into a Juuken position that she was familiar with.

"No… I'm afraid you're all within my field of destruction!" Naruto retorted as he held his palms out, connecting his index and thumb together to form a circle.

"**Air Essence - Gufuu Enkei.**"

The attack caught Hinata and Kiba by surprise as a huge surge of wind shot forward from Naruto's hands, landing a direct hit. The two flew backwards, destroying several trees on their way back.

Shino, on the other hand, watched in amazement as his two teammates were blown backwards by the sheer force of wind alone. What he didn't know was that he let his guard down and it cost him. Naruto took advantage and delivered a quick hard chop to the back of Shino's head, knocking him out with one blow.

Naruto looked around and shrugged his shoulders. After he was done looking around, that was when Kurenai made her move.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, holding out a kunai near his throat. "Do you think you can walk away after this?"

"Are you threatening my life?"

"You threatened my students first."

Naruto laughed. "I was merely defending myself. Is that a crime in Konoha?"

Kurenai's eyes widened in surprised when she felt the cold sharp tip of a Kunai near her own throat. "I warned you to leave me alone but none of you took me seriously. I don't like it when people look down on me." The Genjutsu Mistress watched as the stranger in front of her disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Bunshin?"

Naruto smirked, "No. Kage Bunshin."

Hinata and Kiba managed to roll over to their sides, their eyes widened as the blond stranger had a weapon on their teacher's throat. "SENSEI!" They both yelled out.

Naruto chuckled as he heard them yelling. "Too bad they couldn't save you…"

Just as Naruto was about to pull the kunai across her throat, Jiraiya reappeared in the nick of time, his hand forcefully on Naruto's wrist. "What do you think you're doing gaki?"

"I was defending myself." Naruto coldly replied. He stared Jiraiya in the eye, none of them budging from the spot. Kurenai remained motionless but her knees were about to give out. Both of these men were slowly leaking out killing intent.

"Let go." Jiraiya firmly said. "Now."

"Tch." Naruto dropped the kunai and pushed Kurenai away. "You won't be so lucky next time."

Kurenai took several more steps back, making sure that she had enough distance between herself and him. She watched as the stranger interacted with Jiraiya-sama as if they were naturally friends. Just what was going on here? What was Jiraiya-sama's connection to this man?

Her only assumption was that he was an outsider, a spy. Before she could question them further, they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kurenai sighed as she called her former students over, making sure they were okay.

- - -

"Idiots!" Tsunade yelled out as she threw a couple of paperweights at the two arrivals. "What the hell were you two doing?"

Luckily for Naruto, his wind barrier automatically went up, stopping the paperweight from connecting with his head but Jiraiya wasn't so fortunate. The paperweight caught him off guard, sending the Toad Sannin through the wall.

"Training." Naruto calmly replied as he snickered at his mentor's unfortunate mischief.

"Enough! I have an assignment for you Naruto."

Naruto shook his head, "No. I have better things to do."

"I'm afraid you misheard me Naruto. You have an assignment whether you like it or not."

Naruto released a low growl. "You don't control me."

Tsunade grinned. "As part of the deal, I do now. As for your assignment, you are to go to Suna with Jiraiya and give something to the Kazekage. Not hard but it's not something I can trust to most Chuunin. If you finish this, I will grant you a day of undisturbed access to the library when you return."

Seeing that smirk on the Godaime's face pissed Naruto off but what choice did he have now? "When do I leave?"

Tsunade smiled when she saw the compliance in her new subordinate. "Tonight."

* * *

Author's Note: Not much of an author's note this time around. Things will start picking up with the plot line soon. I want enough room for Naruto's character to grow without causing the plot to be altered.

Technique

**Air Essence - Gufuu Enkei - Circular Tornado.**


	5. Where boy meets man

Sorry for the two month wait. It's been a while. No excuses on my part but I will continue to churn out the chapters as they come. Thanks to the people who continued to leave me reviews. You guys are the best.

A big thanks to Wilson for sticking with me for so long. Even I wouldn't have stuck with me. Props bro xD

* * *

"What a pathetic excuse for a village – just a barren wasteland with no sign of life. I can't believe she forced me to come here…"

"Lower your voice! Are you trying to get us killed?" The elder man hissed back, elbowing his traveling companion in the ribs. "Do you see me complaining?!"

For the past few days, the pair traveled endlessly, traveling throughout day and night.

One fueled by determination and the other by the thought of onsens and women.

Driven by different thoughts, their end goal was the same.

To reach Suna as fast as possible.

It was another boring morning, filing reports and making appointments for the Kage. Nami let a small yawn escape her lips as she continued doing her work. Being twenty-two and still single, she thought she landed the best job of her life when she got hired as the personal secretary for the Kazekage, but it was only a matter of time before she found out the horrors behind this job.

Day after day, it was always work, work, work! The Kage was a workaholic, never taking a day off and because he never took a day off, she couldn't take a day off. Maybe once or twice in a week, something exciting would happen. A fellow ninja arriving in critical condition or a foreign ninja caught and taken in for questioning. Oh those were the good times but they quickly became a rare thing; like finding a priceless jewel in the middle of the desert.

Wasting no more time, she quickly began filing the morning reports once more, knowing that her employer would become irritated when they weren't done by lunchtime.

"You didn't have to do that!"

"Quit your whining. Be lucky I didn't slice off your elbow."

The allure of the voices caught Nami's attention. As they came closer, she imagined what they would look like, anything to pass the time. The first voice, sounded like a mature man, distinguished and probably in his mid fifties but the second voice, the one that totally disregarded the respect of authority was a troublemaker. When the figures finally walked into her sight, she turned around and faced her guests.

"Welcome! How can I help you two gentlemen today?" As she looked at her two guests, she couldn't help but take more than a minute to fully analyze the second guest.

"Yeah! I want to see that idiot that you call the Kazekage right now."

Nami gasped when she heard the young man's request. As she looked him over, she couldn't help but blush, seeing someone that handsome disrespecting her boss. She almost pitied him for doing something so idiotic.

"STUPID APPRENTICE!" Jiraiya shouted, driving his fist into Naruto's skull.

The secretary watched in amusement as the two males in the room bickered with each other. If she didn't know any better, they almost looked like family; a grandfather and his troubled grandson.

"The Kazekage is currently free right now so please go right in." Nami smiled and pointed towards the door. "And please be respectful. The Kazekage doesn't take sarcastic remarks kindly."

Naruto snorted and forcefully kicked the doors opened, causing a loud noise.

"Wait Naruto. Don't do anything stupid! Let me do the talking!" Jiraiya said but the warning fell on deaf ears.

The blond walked in first, holding his head high as the doors were kicked opened. He expected to see an elderly man sitting behind the desk doing paperwork but instead, he found a red-hair boy his age behind that desk. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he looked around the room, seeing if the real Kazekage was somewhere in the room.

"Those were some very expensive doors…"

"I have no business with the likes of you. Tell the Kazekage to get his ass out here right now."

Jiraiya gasped and slapped his hand against his face. He could see the headlines now.

'The Greatest Novelist found DEAD in Suna.'

'Konoha and Suna engaged in WAR!'

The Toad Sannin gritted his teeth in annoyance as he watched Naruto barking out requests. "He could memorize scrolls in a matter of minutes; memorize people's faces in a matter of seconds but this? This he couldn't remember?" The Sannin sadly muttered.

"What did you say?" The boy responded, his tone dropping several degrees.

"Maybe you should clean the sand out of your ears. I said to get the Kazekage out right now!"

The boy sitting behind the desk had a stoic expression on his face as he stood up. "Maybe I should rearrange that pathetic excuse you call a face for you."

The two began leaking out killing intent, staring at each other if they were ready to tear each other limb from limb.

Feeling the tension rising quickly, Jiraiya stepped in front of Naruto, a phony smile on his face as he faced the other boy and bowed in respect. "Kazekage-sama."

Naruto coughed upon hearing his master greet the boy. "That pipsqueak is the Kage? Are you shitting me?"

"Shut up gaki; don't make this any worse than it already is." Jiraiya muttered behind his phony smile. He was trying to defuse the situation that his idiotic apprentice created and maybe salvage whatever relations they had with Suna.

"Jiraiya. What brings you here to my… _wasteland_?"

The elder man flinched and knew that he had to play his cards carefully. Not wasting any time, he conjured up the scroll that he had from Tsunade and handed it over.

"Is he really the Kage of this wasteland?"

"Yes you stupid apprentice. This is Sabaku no Gaara, the youngest and most gifted Kage to ever grace Suna."

Naruto peeked over his master's shoulders and rolled his eyes. "He looks like a weakling. I bet I can mop the floor with him faster than I did with the Uchiha."

Gaara heard something about the Uchiha but paid the two no attention as he opened the scroll.

_Greetings Gaara. By the time you're reading this scroll, there should be two idiots standing in your office, Jiraiya, whom you're already familiar with and the other one is Naruto, the loudest, most annoying brat you'll ever meet besides yourself._

The Kazekage looked up from the scroll and looked at Naruto, who was shooting him dirty looks. He then glanced back down, continued reading the scroll.

_Remember those favors that you owe me? From the time when you invaded my village and turned into a demon to the time where my ninjas rescued you from the clutches of Akatsuki? Well it's time that I called in those favors. What I want from you is pretty simple. You see that blond idiot standing in your office? Yeah. I know you do. Well, I want you to beat the crap out of him in a one on one fight. I have instructed Jiraiya not to interfere. Do this for me and I will consider your debt repaid._

_Tsunade, Godaime Hokage._

Gaara growled as he finished reading the scroll. Who does she think she is? Commanding him like some sort of dog. His eyes went back to a specific part of the scroll and his frown slowly turned into a smirk.

Yes…

Maybe this wasn't bad after all…

_I want you to beat the crap out of him in a one on one fight._

This was something he could do. He would personally show this blond fool just whom he was dealing with.

"What are you looking at you queer?"

Gaara chuckled as he ripped the scroll in half. "Nothing… Absolutely nothing…" Without warning, a fist composed entirely out of sand shot forward from Gaara's gourd, smashing itself into Naruto's wind barrier.

Naruto barely had time to react as a fist came flying towards him but life has taught him and molded him into a fighter with cat like reflexes and he was glad this was one time he saw it coming, even if it was a second late. The force behind the sudden attack caused him to fly out from the office, crashing through several thick walls.

Not even the Uchiha was able to hit him with this much force. This kid was on a whole different level compared to that weakling.

Naruto looked up as he saw Gaara approaching him slowly, the sand carrying him above air.

"I'm going to enjoy rearranging your face." The Kazekage stated. "Get up. Don't make this easy for me."

Naruto didn't respond, only bearing his canines as the smirk on his face grew larger with each passing second.

- - -

Jiraiya sighed as he stepped near the hole in the wall, wondering how this fight would turn out. He remembered a few of Tsunade's plans from when they were younger and they never worked. It always ended up with them backfiring on her.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard the footsteps of someone approaching fast. He paid the noise no attention as he watched the fight from a distance.

"What's going on here!" Temari ran in, gawking at the rather large hole in the wall. Her attention was then diverted to the man standing near the hole in the wall.

"Jiraiya-sama?"

"Yo Temari-san. You're looking lovelier than ever."

Temari ignored the man as she ran to the edge of the wall. "What happened here and where the hell is Gaara?"

The Toad Sannin pointed outside and Temari followed the line of sight, bringing her to Gaara facing off against a mysterious opponent. "Why is Gaara beating on that kid?!"

"Because that kid is my apprentice."

"I can't sit here and watch this." Temari released the huge battle fan from her back and prepared herself to join the battle. "I don't know about you but your apprentice is going to get himself killed. Gaara hasn't had a decent fight in months and judging from that bloodthirsty look on his face, it's safe to assume that he's out for some blood."

"Ha ha ha." Jiraiya laughed. "Even though you are the Kazekage's sister, I can't let you get involved."

"You know what Gaara is and you know what he can do. Whoever your apprentice is, he won't stand a chance alone!"

The Sannin shook his head and held up two fingers. "There are two reasons my dear, two reasons why I can't let you involve yourself in this fight. The first reason is that this fight was requested by the Hokage, Tsunade herself."

"And the second reason?"

"I want to see the gaki get his ass handed to him!"

Temari remained silent, partially stunned at the man's words but as she continued to observe the fight, she saw how relaxed Jiraiya was, almost as if he knew the outcome of this fight. If this was a normal situation, she was sure he would have been worried but there was no sign of worry in his eyes, just his normal perverted eyes with maybe a slight part of admiration.

Seeing that he wasn't worried, she calmed herself down and stood back, watching the fight from up here.

"Are you going to tell me why they're out there?"

"Just wait and see."

- - -

_Back in Konoha_

Sasuke closed his eyes for the umpteenth, his patience growing thinner and thinner with each passing second.

He took deep breaths… inhaling and exhaling slowly… clearing his mind of all earthly distractions…

By distractions, he meant the five people and one filthy animal currently invading his hospital room.

By people, he meant the three normal people, two very loud people and one filthy animal…

Correction, the two normal people, the two very loud people, one annoying person and one filthy animal.

Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

Couldn't they take the hints that he just wanted to be left alone? Was his icy glare and his unsocial attitude not enough to get it through their thick skulls?

Sasuke sighed in irritation. He spent all morning working on that quarantine sign and begged the nurses to change his room but they must like to see him suffer. Why else would they make him stay here with these lunatics?

From the corner of his left eye, he could see Sakura and Kiba arguing while from his right eye, he could see Shino and Hinata, sitting quietly on the chairs, chatting amongst themselves.

As the Uchiha turned his attention away from those people, his eyes were greeted by someone who he hated with a passion. Someone who he hated more than he hated Itachi. This person was the root of his irritation and he would like nothing more than to smash his fist into his face right now.

"Hey Mr. Emo-san. I brought your girlish clothing like you requested." Sai answered, a big smile on his face.

"Get out…"

"What was that Emo-san? Your voice must be cracked from not shouting those emotional stuff like you always do."

As Sai continued on with his rambling, something inside Sasuke snapped. It was like a rubber band that reached its limit and snapped. The once stoic Uchiha did not know what caused it but he liked the raw power that was flowing out of him. His thoughts driven by anger and his sight blinded by rage.

"**Katon: Karyuu Endan**"

Needlessly to say, the people inside the hospital ran for their lives as a fiery dragon appeared out of nowhere, chasing the people who once occupied in the room. As the dragon past, a low chuckle could be heard from a distance and from that day on, room 21B was isolated. Not because no one wanted to enter, but because no one was brave enough to do so…

"Should have thought of this a long time ago…" Sasuke sighed in content as he finally got his peace and quiet. "Time to plan my escape from this place…"

- - -

Twenty minutes have past since the start of this battle but yet, it felt like an eternity. Temari watched in amazement as this no-name kid was going head to head with her brother, a former jinchuuriki who once housed the one tail demon - Shukaku.

"Un…believable…"

"Heh. That's my stupid apprentice for you." Jiraiya replied, a big smirk on his face. "You have truly come a long way gaki…"

Gaara wasted no time as he ran towards Naruto and twisted in mid-air, his sand mimicking his actions. He swung his leg towards Naruto's head but the blond disappeared in a puff of smoke. Realizing that it was a Kage Bunshin, Gaara turned around with his hands folded against his chest. "Not bad for a rookie."

Naruto said nothing as he leaped across several buildings, keeping the distance between him and Gaara. After going head on with Gaara, it was safe to assume that his barrier was superior to his in every way. While his Wind Barrier only protected him to a certain extent, Gaara's provided the ultimate defense.

As he watched Gaara from the distance, he pondered on his options. Ninjutsus were out and Genjutsus were his weak point, not that he needed to cast it. It seems like Taijutsu was his only option but that ultimate defense of his was the only thing blocking him. What he needed was something that would pierce through his armor…

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the sand that once surrounded Gaara dissipated into the air.

"Scatter… into the winds of time."

Unable to comprehend the meaning behind those words, Naruto boosted up his defenses, preparing for the attack. His mind replayed the scenes of the battle over and over, allowing him to study his opponent at his own pace.

"I thought you were going to be a challenge…" Gaara exclaimed boringly. "I thought there was something special about you but I guess it was all hyped. You're nothing but a waste of my time. This is the end for you."

"The end?" Naruto chuckled deviously. "Stop joking around! I will not let it end here. I have goals to fulfill! Nothing will stop me. Not to you. Not to that piece of shit Hokage back in Konoha! Not to anyone!"

"Tch." Gaara opened his fist and without hesitation, the sand that once protected Gaara appeared around Naruto. "Too bad kid. This is life. Get used to it."

Naruto turned his head all round but everywhere he looked, grains of sand blocked his every escape. He witnessed Gaara's attack so many times that he knew the basic principals behind it.

Even though the sand acted like a barrier, it was also his offensive weapon. Using the pressure from the sand, he can crush his opponents easily. He witnessed an earlier attempt but he narrowly escape. From the looks of it, this was probably the original version…

Gaara watched in amusement as he watched his prey squirm, backed into a corner and unable to escape. It was this kind of battle that made his blood rush. It was about time he found someone that was so similar to him.

It was ashamed that he would have to crush him.

"Bastard…" Naruto growled out. "You and that bitch have the same eyes… Those mocking eyes. I'll show you why you should never underestimate me!"

Naruto took a deep breath and focused his energy to his hands, forming a diamond shape with his fingers and aimed it at Gaara, who coincidence stood in front of the building that Jiraiya and Temari were watching from.

- - -

"Oh shit…" Jiraiya exclaimed when he realized what Naruto was aiming for. "GET DOWN!" He shouted, pulling Temari to the ground

"OI! What the hell are you doing you pervert?"

"Because Naruto's playing chicken!" The Sannin explained, bobbing his head up and down from the hole. Checking every other second to see if the attack started or not.

"Chicken? I don't understand."

"He knows that he can't beat Gaara so he's gambling on his loyalty. Naruto's focusing an attack that's aimed right at Gaara."

"So? Gaara has an impenetrable defense."

Jiraiya weakly laughed. "With this attack, it will pierce through anything."

"Then Gaara can just evade it." Temari argued, not seeing the point.

"But if he evades it, we're right in the path of the attack…"

Temari's eyes widened. "That son of a bitch! How dare he?" She cursed out. "Using such a cheap method to win a fight. It's a disgrace to everyone being a ninja!"

"Do not start judging people just yet Temari." Jiraiya lectured. "In a battle where every little thing could mean the difference between life and death, you need to take every advantage that you can get. Naruto understands this better than anyone. He fights everyone like its his last and that's why he was able to survive on his own for so long."

"Before I made him my apprentice, I found him alone in a forest near Kumo, hiding in the solitary of a cave. It surprised me at first, to see a kid around 8 years old, living alone with no parents but to me, he was just another brat, another victim from the war. I had seen a lot of children like him so I continued wandering. It was only during my return trip when I saw him surrounded by a gang of slave traders, beating on Naruto like he was some sort of game. I was about to step in when Naruto suddenly unleashed something and before I could even blink, those slave traders were dead before they even knew it themselves. To see a boy his age do something like this made me cringe. Me, Jiraiya of the legendary Sannins…"

Upon hearing the man's explanation, Temari's heart softened for a bit. If she looked more closely, the cold azure eyes that Naruto has bears some resemblance to the eyes that Gaara once had.

"He's just like Gaara…" Her words softly came out.

"He's more like your brother than you think Temari-san. They both been through a lot but Gaara has found his path early in life whereas Naruto is still searching for his. I think bringing that boy here today was a good choice…"

- - -

Gaara stopped his attack half way, half amused at the pathetic attempt for a last attack. He wondered what this boy could do in this situation… Whenever he performed his attack, most of his enemies showed fear and begged for their own lives but this boy was different…

It wasn't the look of defeat in his eyes.

It was the look of determination… the look of a man who has nothing to lose.

"That's it… Show me what you live and die for Naruto. Show me your existence!"

"**Air Essence - Gufuu Enkei**"

A beam of compressed air shot out of Naruto's diamond shape figure. Gaara's eyes widened as he felt a huge surge of power coming towards him but he couldn't see what it was.

He heard Naruto shouting something and felt a sudden change in the atmospheric pressure but his eyes didn't seeing anything. Maybe his eyes were lying to him but his other senses weren't. His ears were picking up some strange sounds, which indicated that something was coming fast. His instincts were telling him move, to get out of the way but from the corner of his eye, he saw that he was directly in line with his office and a flicker of grayish hair caught his eye.

_'Crap. There are people still in there!'_

Gaara growled as he recalled his sand to form a protective barrier on him. He didn't have much time. He couldn't tell how much time he had left before the attack connected but from what he could hear, he had less than a second.

"Checkmate."

Gaara released a loud cry as he did everything in his power to pull his sand together.

A loud explosion then occurred in the middle of the district, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look up. Temari and Jiraiya both stood up slowly, peeking through the hole and because they were at the office, they had a perfect view of what was going on.

"Gaara… Actually took the attack…" Temari slowly said, surprise in her voice.

Jiraiya let out a low whistle as he surveyed the damage. Dust and debris were still in the air, probably the result of air hitting sand. The Sannin wondered how Gaara held up after witnessing such an attack from Naruto. The two exchanged nothing but Taijutsu with some Ninjutsu coming from Gaara but when it came down to Naruto, the boy lacked the knack for Ninjutsu…

Nevertheless, he was very impressed with the boy, going head to head with a Kage using nothing but determination and will. Even if he had lost today, this will serve as an important stepping-stone for him...

Jiraiya chuckled to himself; even he would have had trouble with Gaara, the former host of Shukaku. While the boy did not possess the demon anymore, there were several traits that the demon left behind and one of them was the sand controlling abilities.

"Is Gaara going to be alright?"

Before Jiraiya can answer, a spike in Gaara's chakra level alerted him that this fight wasn't over.

"Scatter… into the winds of time." The Kage's exhausted voice echoed into the wind.

Jiraiya couldn't help but shiver at the man's statement. Whatever he just said, it had to be big.

'Shit.' Naruto mentally cursed as he dodged another near fatal trap. The sand that once protected Gaara was now flying everywhere. His wind barrier could only protect him from so much but this was one time it would be considered useless.

The blond saw from the corner of his eye as the smirk on Gaara's face slowly disappeared and was replaced by a fierce look of determination. An idea suddenly popped into Naruto's head as he jumped from one building to another.

Meanwhile, Gaara slowly gritted his teeth, his frustrations slowly taking effect. 'STAY STILL.' he growled out. The blond fool was a slippery one. Always escaping at the last minute but soon, he will mess up and when he does, he's dead. That last attack almost caught him, piercing through his barrier but luckily, it just grazed him on the shoulders.

The Kazekage's eyes widened when Naruto disappeared without a trace. He was well within his sights when he just suddenly disappeared. As his eyes slowly searched for it, he failed to notice that Naruto was moving silently beneath him. It didn't help much as Gaara was almost out of chakra, performing several chakra-draining attacks but he wasn't going to give up here. He had a job to do.

He had to rearrange Naruto's face…

He must…

Panting slightly, Naruto crouched low to the ground, not moving as he tried to regain his composure.

It was extremely lucky that he found that gap on the rooftops, allowing him to narrowly escape once again and rethink his battle strategy. Never in his life had he fought someone like Gaara, someone who was so similar to himself.

As the blond peaked through a small hole, he found Gaara hovering above the building, current to where he was hiding. He had to end this fight now or else, he would be the one losing. Thoughts of his failure plagued his mind. Losing meant taking one-step back instead of taking one-step forward. It was something that he couldn't do right now. He must continue moving forward…

His last attack had pierced through Gaara's defense but not to the point where he had hoped. This was the first time that he had actually used it successfully. If that attack was used from a long range distance and condensed into a small beam, it would be able to pierce through anything, rather than using it to blow away those two Konoha ninjas...

While Naruto was engaged in his own thoughts, he failed to notice the sand piling up from behind him.

"Like a mouse hiding in a hole…" Gaara said, speaking up from behind Naruto. "There isn't a place you can hide that I can't find you."

Before Naruto could do anything, Gaara concentrated enough Chakra into his fist and landed a firm uppercut, effectively hitting the blond on the chin.

Naruto coughed out some blood as he flew through the roof. Before he had a chance to retaliate; sand quickly formed around the blond, trapping him inside.

"Squirm more." Gaara answered, "I like it when my prey squirms before I crush them."

"Your prey? What makes you think you were going to win this?"

Surprised by Naruto's question, Gaara moved forward just enough so that he was almost face to face with him. He was going to enjoy this moment, all the pent up anger he had earlier was about to be released. "I don't think. I know so."

That brought a smirk to Naruto's face. "Cocky bastard. Go ahead; see if you even have the balls to go through with this." He taunted.

Gaara laughed out loud. It wasn't just a regular heartfelt laugh. This one was filled with nothing but cruel intentions of crushing his opponent. "Then so be it."

The Kazekage held out his arm and slowly made a fist; the sand then began to tighten around Naruto until Gaara's fist was almost closed. "This is it; I'm going to kill you."

"Do you see me begging for my life? Go ahead already you weakling."

A monster. A demon. A Ninja. A brother. A Kage. Those were the titles that he was bestowed with but a weakling? That was one title that was never given to him nor would it be one that he would take. Gaara's eyes flashed with fury as he closed his fist tightly and waited for the familiar sound of blood oozing out.

A second passed and still no sound. Something was wrong with the picture here. Gaara looked down and saw that his fist was indeed shut and then look back up, seeing Naruto still smirking at him.

"Well?"

"How?" Gaara answered back with his own question. He didn't understand it. No one could have survived the pressure of his sand.

As Naruto's cold azure eyes gazed upon Gaara's, a frown suddenly appeared on his face and he instantly knew, he was screwed.

- - -

"Is it over yet?" Jiraiya asked as he quickly found a closet to hide in. "Did they finally stop?"

Temari sighed and nodded her head. "They stopped fighting a few minutes ago you big baby. Why are you even hiding in there?"

"Is Naruto on the ground bruised and bleeding?"

"No." The wind mistress answered.

"Is Naruto being harassed by Gaara?"

"No."

"Is Naruto dead?"

Temari shot the man a weird look before shaking her head. "No."

"Are Naruto and Gaara coming here?"

"No - , wait I mean Yes."

Jiraiya gulped. "That's why I'm hiding. Naruto's a lot smarter than he looks. He probably figured out that Tsunade put Gaara up to this and he's out for revenge and since he can't get revenge on her, I'm the next best thing."

Temari snorted, "Please, like they would team up on you just to beat…"

"Beat what?"

Jiraiya peaked outside and paled, standing there were the two people he didn't want to see. As you can see, there were only three people that the legendary Sennin actually feared, the third Hokage, Tsunade, and the 'Ma'. Now, he will have to add two more to that list, making it an even five…

"Come out, we know you're there." The pair monotonously called out. The sounds of someone cracking their knuckles sent shivers down Jiraiya's spine.

"No one here but us shoes." Jiraiya answered back in a fake high pitch voice.

Too bad for him, the duo that stood outside the closet was in no moods for games.

* * *

Leave me a review and tell me what you guys think. I decided to do something different with this story so all feedbacks are appreciated.


	6. When he came home

So guys, I think I'm getting better with updating huh? lol. Sorry about that on my part. My muse is missing lately and when I finally caught it, it slipped through my fingers once more but don't worry, its now caught in my little cage.

Just wanted to say thanks to all the readers, the reviews and of course, Wilson! You guys rock.

* * *

"You lied to me."

Naruto stated at the beginning of their return journey. His empty voice had engraved itself into his mind.

It only took four words.

Four words that dampened the mood for their return trip home. No matter how many times he tried explaining to Naruto, the boy wouldn't listen. He was that damn stubborn.

Even after he was beaten, crushed and threatened, the boy continued to stay mad at him.

Jiraiya sighed as he leaped behind Naruto, clearing the final trees before arriving at the gates of Konoha. It looked like the boy still hasn't forgiven him…

He watched as his apprentice led the way towards the gate but stopped just before he reached it. "Hurry your ass up Ero-Sennin."

Did his ears deceive him or did he just hear the boy call him 'Ero-Sennin'? The very name he detested but at the same time, yearning to hear it once more.

"What did you say gaki?" The man retorted back. "I dare you to say it again."

"I said hurry… your… old, pathetic, ass… up Ero-Sennin."

Jiraiya let the words pass, knowing that this was Naruto's way of saying that everything was alright between them now. Even after all these years of interacting with people, the boy still had a hard time expressing his feelings. He should have taken some offense to those words but he didn't. He was just glad that everything was back to normal between them now.

"Gaki. You're still a hundred years too young to be telling me what to do."

"You want to bet on that?" Naruto asked, tilting his head slightly. "I'll make you scream like a girl. Again."

The man rolled his eyes, knowing the outcome of this argument. They would continue to bicker until Naruto actually carried out the threat and he would usually run for his life but not this time. Deciding to be the bigger man, Jiraiya walked away and knocked on the booth.

"Watcha want?" The voice from inside the booth answered. "State yer name and reason for coming here."

"My name is… Hoshigaki Kisame and I'm here… to destroy Konoha." Naruto answered, interrupting Jiraiya from continuing.

The man from inside the booth ran outside in a hurry, fear plastered all over his face. He held a kunai tightly in his hand, ready to defend his village against the intruder.

As he looked around, he couldn't find the missing-nin anywhere. No matter where he looked, he saw two men standing before him, only recognizing one of the men.

"Jiraiya-sama!" The man yelled out. "Hoshigaki Kisame is here somewhere. We have to warn Hokage-sama right now."

"What a fool. So easily manipulated by something so trivial. Is this village really considered to be one of the best?" Naruto said out loud. "If one of their ninjas got spooked by just the mere mention of a name, I wonder what would happen if the said man actually showed up."

The man felt his cheeks flush, angry at himself because he fell into the boy's trap but he was even angrier at the boy for using such an arrogant tone with him. "You think this is some kind of joke you punk?"

He ran forward, his kunai poised to strike. "I'll teach you a lesson for taking us Konoha Nins lightly!" He yelled.

"You think I'm taking your guys lightly? Don't even joke! I would never consider the people of this village to even be ninjas!"

Naruto thrust both of his arms forward and without any hesitation, he took a deep breath. As Naruto took that breath, he found a familiar feeling building up from within his abdominals.

He remembered the first time he called upon this strange and mysterious power. It was only two years ago… when he was still living alone in the forest. The feeling came rather suddenly and Naruto felt something building up inside of him. At first, he didn't know what this was and it felt like his stomach was about to explode from the inside out.

His mind started panicking, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He was trying his hardest to resist the pains but in the end, the only thing he could do was let go.

The results were devastating. Just as he released the pressure, some kind of weird power exploded from him, destroying everything from within a fifty feet radius.

It took a full month of mediation to fully understand what kind of power he had within him and with Fujin giving him tips along the way; it was only a matter of time before he mastered it.

When Jiraiya had explained to him the nature of Chakra, Naruto noticed the slight difference between the two. He witnessed Jiraiya demonstrating chakra while performing some jutsus but Naruto knew that whatever he had within him wasn't Chakra. It was something similar in theory but completely different.

_It is called_ _Essence_. Fujin explained quietly. That was the first time he heard another voice besides his own in his head. The power of Essence came before Chakra, before people learned to harness Essence and refined it into Chakra.

As Jiraiya explained, Naruto's body was different. It was indeed true that he had Chakra running through his body but it was hidden underneath something else. He still remembered the pervert's words that day.

'_Holy crap. What the hell are you?'_

The man had literally dropped his research pad, a feat that had not been duplicated to this very day.

It was the power of Essence that was covering the Chakra, keeping the two from ever mixing. None of them knew what would happen if that barrier was to break but as Jiraiya continued his research, he came up with a single theory.

A Big Bang.

There were no other words to describe it. Naruto didn't have to believe the man to know that he was telling the truth. He could feel it growing from within his body.

Fujin, his first spirit, assured him that this balance between the two would never be disturbed and true to the spirit's word, it was always intact.

Naruto had spent hours after hours learning about this _Essence_ and studying how to use it effectively in battle. It took him almost three months to actually create his wind barrier and then another three months to effectively use it automatically. It was a pain but in the end it paid off.

That was when he met the man. Jiraiya was there on that day when he killed those slave traders in cold blood. There was no sorrow or regret in those eyes of his. It was either kill or be killed. That's how he survived and that's the way he will continue to survive.

Seeing that wind barrier in action, Jiraiya offered him something that he couldn't refuse. He offered him a chance to learn the way of the ninja, learning skills that would help him in the future.

But Naruto had no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu but in his eyes, those were deemed unnecessary. He watched Jiraiya spar one day against his own clone, demonstrating some basic taijutsu styles and when the man told him it was his turn to practice, he had mirrored it perfectly.

Almost too perfectly... It was like a machine moving, rather than a human being.

Whatever style Jiraiya used in front of him, Naruto committed to memory without having the man repeat it a second time. Of course, learning the style and mastering the style was completely different. He found out the hard way when he went up against Uchiha Sasuke.

As Naruto pushed his right palm forward, his left palm went behind the right and with a small smirk on his face, his eyes shone brightly, calling forth the technique that he had grown so familiar to using.

**Air Essence –** **Gufuukara**

The Chunnin saw the boy doing something but since no hand seals were used, he continued running forward. Jiraiya, on the other hand, recognized the glow on Naruto's eyes and knew what his apprentice was doing.

He had only a few seconds left before Naruto unleashed his attack. He quickly went through a series of hand seals and slammed his hand down.

**Doton - Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu**

Without warning, a pair of hands shot up from the ground, wrapping itself around the chunnin's ankle before dragging him under.

"What the hell is this?" The man shouted. As he turned his head up, he felt some invisible force flying over him.

"A thank you would be nice…" Jiraiya muttered as he dusted himself off. He then turned to Naruto, "Gaki! Don't you think you took it a bit too far? What would you have done if you killed him?"

Naruto shrugged, "One less piece of trash to worry about." He looked at the chunnin, his entire body buried into the ground saved for his head.

He crouched down next to him and smirked, "Lucky. Did you know that?" He asked.

The chunnin stared back with hatred in his eyes, "I will find yer and get even. Do yer hear me punk?"

"I… like… to… see… you… try…" Naruto answered slowly as he slapped the man's face.

The chunnin gritted his teeth, "REMEMBER ME BOY! REMEMBER THE NAME ZERIK. I WILL FIND YER."

Laughter was his only response as Naruto walked off. "Yeah whatever, I wouldn't hold my breath."

Zerik tilted his head backwards, watching the duo walk away from him upside down but his eyes were distracted by the destruction of his booth. His eyes widened as he examined it. It was completely shattered.

As his body continued to struggle, his mind was telling him one thing. Maybe he was lucky to be stuck in the ground. He shuddered to think what could have happened if he got hit with that attack.

As the master and student continued their way into town, Jiraiya noticed that Naruto was walking the opposite way. "Hey gaki, the tower's this way. We have to report to her."

"Not my problem." Naruto answered as his hands went into his pockets. "I have other business to take care off." Just like that, the boy disappeared into the wind, traces of his footsteps disappearing as well.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes as he fazed off too, not letting his apprentice be the only flashy one.

- - -

Tsunade sat in her office, rapidly putting her seal of approval on the documents. She didn't care what it was, as long as she got her work done.

Stamp, move paper, stamp, move paper. Her mantra of the day.

"Hard at work Tsu-hime?" Jiraiya humorously called out, using a pet name that only he could get away with. The hermit stood by the door, impressed at the speed that his teammate was moving at.

"Oh it's you." Tsunade answered without looking up. She continued to put her seal on the documents, increasing her pace as well. "How did it go? Did the gaki get his ass handed to him?"

Jiraiya made no attempt to answer that, seeing as how he warned her from the beginning. He had warned her that this would blow up in her face and it did. He wanted to just straight up say, your plan sucked. Naruto and Gaara formed an alliance that's even stronger than the Konoha-Suna alliance.

But that was in his head. He wasn't actually going to say it out loud, unless he really wanted a beating from her.

He opted to stay silent, wishing that he had kept his mouth shut.

When Tsunade heard nothing from her perverted teammate, she looked up, a curious look in her eyes. "I said, how did it go Jiraiya?"

Taking her eyes off her paperwork, she saw Jiraiya fidgeting slightly but the look in his eyes told her all that she needed to know.

It blew up in her face, just like the rest of her other plans.

She sighed, "Where is Naruto?"

- - -

_Konoha Library_

Naruto entered the large building, taking in the smell of books and scrolls. As he took a look around, he saw that it was surrounded by civilians and ninjas, children and adults, geeks and bookworms.

If he recalled correctly, Konoha's library was only the third best in the world, the first being in Suna, followed by Iwa. It was no surprise to see so many people here. In this one place, it contained more knowledge than any one individual and it would take more than one lifetime to fully read and understand all these books and scrolls.

There were books to his left and books to his right. It was like a sea of endless words…

Maybe this was the place he can find some information about that man, Jin Hibiki, but where should he start? So many different books and he didn't have much time. That hag could send him off on a mission to the end of the world any second now.

Taking one look, he saw the main desk and decided that if anyone could help him, it would be one of those people.

"Hello, how can I be of service for you today?" A petite voice said.

Naruto looked up and saw that her name tag read 'Yumi'.

"Well Yumi, I'm looking for any kind of information you have about Jin Hibiki."

Yumi nodded her head and smile, "Sure, I can do that, just give me a few seconds." She replied as she began looking through the card catalog by first names. As she went through it, she saw that the young man who asked for help was very cute.

Deciding to see if he was really that cute, she knocked over a pencil on purpose, using this chance to take a good look at him. When she picked up her pencil, she saw that she was so right. So damn right. Standing right in front of her was an angel sent from heaven. His sun kissed blond hair and his fair skin complexion, oh how she wanted to just feel it.

She forced herself to stop drooling when she noticed those muscles on his arm, not huge but toned enough that it can be seen from his white t-shirt and that small chain hanging around his neck was the cherry on top.

Naruto noticed that Yumi was staring at him, some drool leaking from the side of her mouth, "Well? Did you find anything?" He asked, snapping her out of her daydream.

Yumi quickly looked away and blushed, "Uh… not yet."

'_Hibiki… Hibiki…'_ She kept repeating the name in her mind as she went through the catalog.

One minute suddenly became two.

Two minutes suddenly became five as Yumi went through several catalogs.

Naruto tapped his finger against the desk impatiently, the girl off doing her own thing and was testing his patience.

It took a good ten minutes before she stopped searching, turning to him with a sad smile. "I'm sorry but there's no author or subject under the name of Hibiki Jin. Maybe you should double check your information one more time."

The poor girl, she just committed one of the greatest mistakes in her life and that was telling Naruto that she didn't have the information that he requested.

She didn't expect it, being a normal civilian girl that she was. She wasn't accustomed to seeing so many strange things from the ninja world, one such as a raging hurricane right smack in the middle of the library.

Hearing her answer, Naruto's eyes widened slowly before he narrowed them. His wind barrier reacted to his emotions, causing them to spin around its host like a circular hurricane.

"That bitch…" He venomously whispered out.

Those were the last two words anyone heard before havoc was unleashed inside the Konoha Library.

- - -

It was unexpectedly lively today; whispers and small talk went across the room. There was no point in guessing what everyone was excited about; they were all discussing the same thing.

His legacy. Yondaime's Legacy.

The news came rather sudden, when a messenger bird came with the message that claims that the legacy of the Yondaime lives.

Homura sat in his seat, minding his own business as he drank his tea. He didn't need to lower himself to their level and start gossiping like a schoolgirl. He was one of the honorable three, along with Koharu and Danzo, the few people who had the honor of serving with the Sandaime Hokage.

He turned his head slightly as his teammate Koharu entered the room. From the corner of his eye, he watched as she walked gracefully before sitting down next to him. Homura bowed his head slightly, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Did you hear about the Yondaime's legacy?"

Koharu poured herself a cup of tea before answering, "I hear he is alive Homura. He was in _Konoha_ earlier this week. Can you believe that? Right under our noses and we didn't even know about it."

The village elder shook his head. "It doesn't matter as long as he is still within village. We will find him immediately and extend our gratitude to him. We must show him that we are the only people he can trust and we will then take him under our wing."

"I agree. It is his destiny to be with us, just like his father before him. He will be a great Hokage someday after our tutorage. We shall teach the boy everything we know and shape him into our will."

Homura nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, he will be great like his father but he will also be unlike his father. We won't make the same mistake as we did with the fourth. While he was clever enough to disobey the will of the council, his son will not be that clever. We will show them that the council is the absolute truth."

Chuckling to herself, Koharu blew on her tea, cooling it down. "I have sent out ninjas to fetch him as we speak. I expect him to be found within the day. It shouldn't be hard to recognize the _son_ of the fourth."

- - -

"HE WHAT?!" Tsunade yelled from inside her office. She couldn't believe it. The gaki actually bested her. At her own game too.

Jiraiya sighed as he raised his hands to protect his face, "He beat Gaara single-handedly. No one interfered with that fight. Neither I nor Temari. Both of us sat back and watched from afar." He counted the seconds until Tsunade would throw her fist into his face, knocking him back but it never came.

He slowly lowered his hand, curious to see the expression on Tsunade's face.

"What the hell is this? The gaki was supposed to be humiliated, beaten to a pulp! Gaara tricked me!" The Godaime Hokage ranted on as she broke the sake cup. "Gaara was supposed to beat the gaki, not the other way around! Argh!!" She sighed in frustration. "Now I have to acknowledge his skill."

Tsunade rubbed her head furiously, "Please tell me you didn't tell him about the truth of this trip."

Silence engulfed the room as Jiraiya chose to remain silent. He didn't exactly tell Naruto…

He was just forced by both Naruto and Gaara. Forced then beaten and crushed. His painful screams could be heard throughout the entire Suna Village. His spine still shuddered at the mere though of being caught between Naruto and Gaara.

"Jiraiya… You told them… didn't you?"

She turned her glare at her old teammate. Jiraiya looked up and was met with a fierce glare.

"I'm sorry Tsunade!!" Jiraiya cried out, breaking down onto the floor. "They beat me, they crushed me and they showed me terror that I never even experienced before."

"Oh for crying out loud…" Tsunade muttered.

"I just had to tell them everything. I couldn't lie to Gaara. Have you seen his stoic face? It was like being tortured by both Ibiki and Anko at the same time. Surely you would have done the same thing if you were in my position."

"I wouldn't have gotten myself into that position in the first place!" She defended. "You're a Sannin for crying out loud. Does the title have no meaning for you?"

"But Gaara's sand, Naruto's wind, it was everywhere…" The man whimpered back. "I couldn't escape. My **Chikan Nige no jutsu** was ineffective against the Sabaku Kyuu!"

Tsunade shook her head, unable to believe that for a man of Jiraiya's caliber, he was so useless, "Do you have anything important to relay back to me? Maybe a report on his performance?"

At this point, Jiraiya was rocking himself back and forth, his eyes lost in a daze. "Gaki stopped the Sabaku Kyuu." He muttered over and over again.

"He… stopped Gaara's Sabaku Kyuu?" Tsunade's eyes widened. How was the gaki able to actually stop it? He didn't have rock hard skin nor did he process monstrous strength to actually break free from it.

She had to find out more. "Oi, you useless fool. How did he do it?" Tsunade snapped her fingers a couple of times, trying to get the man's attention. When she found him unresponsive, she yanked him by the collar and shook him.

"How did he do it?!" She demanded. "How?"

"Look ma! The bugs are flying everywhere!" The Toad Sannin answered in a childish voice. "Wheee!"

Tsunade sighed as she dropped him to the ground. Before she could get more information out of her pathetic teammate, an ANBU appeared in her office, his right arm gripping his left one tightly. It didn't take a medical expert to know what happened to his arm.

Tsunade took one glance and instantly saw a broken arm. "What happened to you Wolf?" She asked her ANBU.

Wolf barely responded as he collapsed on the ground, right next to Jiraiya. "Oi Wolf! What happened to you?"

The ANBU grunted as he rolled himself over onto his back, "Fight… Library… Monster…" He answered before falling unconscious.

"Fight? Library? Monster?" Tsunade repeated those words to herself. "Naruto!" She yelled out. "Damn you brat!"

- - -

_Suna_

Temari bit her lips as she sat in front of her younger brother. It had been a week since his fight with Naruto and he didn't speak about it to anyone. Not her, not to Kankuro, not even to Baki.

It was eating her from the inside out. She had to find out how Naruto managed to beat her little brother, the Kazekage, the strongest in the village.

"Gaara."

There was no point in putting it off any longer. It was her duty as an older sister to make sure he was alright. Ever since that battle, he was pushing himself into paperwork more and more. She barely saw him at home anymore and it worried her.

"Gaara." She said his name again. "Are you okay? We're really worried about you…"

"He muttered something that day…"

"Huh?"

"Something that I didn't understand."

Now, Temari was curious. Just what did Naruto do to make Gaara this confuse? "What did he say?"

Looking her in the eye, Gaara answered, "He told me that I was different but yet, the same as him…"

"The same? What does he mean by that?"

Gaara shrugged his shoulders. He had been trying to understand that person for a week now. He didn't know how but his sand wouldn't crush him. If it was able to crush Jiraiya, surely it can crush one simple man.

But it didn't.

It couldn't.

He recalled that particular battle. It was something he never experienced before. He felt his blood rushing throughout his body, his body yearning for the fight to last longer. Every jutsu he used, every time he used his sand; he was craving for more.

The part that he remembered the most was his eyes. Naruto's cold hollow cerulean blues. It was like there was no person in there, no soul within its vessel.

As Gaara stared into those eyes, it was almost as if it was sucking out his soul, to replace the one it was missing.

"Stay away from him Temari. If you ever have to fight him, run."

Temari snorted. "I'm not going to run without a fight Gaara. You know that."

"NO!" Gaara shouted, slamming his hand down forcefully. "You must run. I am not ordering you as a kage but as your brother. I want you to run away if you should ever encounter him."

Temari merely nodded, unable to find the words to answer her younger brother. She could feel his feelings behind it and it really showed that he cared for her…

- - -

When the Hokage arrived at the site of the disturbance, she was greeted by chaos. Tsunade could still hear the destruction going on from within the library. She cracked her knuckles and marched inside but before she could walk through the front door, several ANBUs were forcefully thrown out, cuts and bruises all over their body. Their groans could be heard but she paid them no attention. She had something bigger to take care of first.

As she marched through the doors and stood inside, she gasped at the site before her. The entire library was in shambles. Bookshelves, tables, the books themselves were disordered and everywhere. It would probably take two to three weeks just to clean up this little mess.

Sensing an object coming towards her, she ducked under and let the book fly by harmlessly.

"NARUTO!" She shouted. "COME OUT RIGHT NOW YOU GAKI!"

Hearing his name, Naruto walked out, a disappointed look on his face. "You lied to me you double crossing hag. There was nothing in there about Jin Hibiki."

"Of course not you ignorant fool. I was talking about the Hokage's library. Did you not know that we have our own personal collection?"

"Oh." Naruto answered, surprised that there was another library. He rubbed his head nervously as he looked around at the destruction. "My bad?"

He saw the fiery anger in her eyes and he offered her a small smile. "Sorry?"

Tsunade didn't want to hear it as she stormed over there and picked Naruto up by the collar of his shirt. "You apologize to everyone right now!" She demanded.

Walking about with Naruto on hand, she marched him over to the head librarian. "Apologize!"

Naruto looked at the tiny man with thick glasses and shrugged. "Sorry?"

The Hokage shook him forcefully. "Like you mean it!"

"Bite me."

Tsunade felt her cheeks flushed as she slammed Naruto into the ground. "GAKI! YOU'RE ON PROBATION FOR A MONTH!" She yelled at him.

Naruto shot her a bored look before disappearing, almost as like he was never actually there in the first place.

- - -

_Elsewhere, from the west_

"My liege. His training has finally been completed. He has reached his limit."

A person sitting on the throne nodded his head. "Then send him off towards the east. He should be able to sense him… since they are similar…"

"Do you think it is wise my liege? I should go. I would see to this mission personally."

The person shook his head. "No Toyotama. I want to see how well Hoderi matches up against the one who has all six."

Toyotama bowed his head, "Yes my liege. I will send him off immediately."

* * *

Author's note: For those whose wondering about my new story,_ Frozen in Time_. The first chapter has been completed. It's in the process of being reviewed and fixed. I expect to release it by this weekend at the latest.

So what did you guys think? Let me know in a review! Til next time guys, peace.

**_Jutsu:_**

**Chikan Nige no jutsu** - Perverted Escape Technique - 'Nuff said.


	7. What just happened here

Damn, thanks for all those reviews guys. Mucho mucho thanks. Lol some of them were quite funny and I just laughed. Haha.

So everyone loves how Naruto acts in this huh? Damn, I wanna be like Naruto now lol. Okay, I have no message and I'm just stalling.

Thanks to everyone that reads my stories, leaves me reviews and my beta. Rawr.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking destroying public property like that?!"

Even behind the closed doors of the Hokage's chamber, Tsunade's loud voice still penetrated the outside world. Ninjas passing by cringed when they heard the sound of her voice. They couldn't help but shudder, thanking the gods that they weren't the one inside. Her anger was enough to make anyone wet themselves.

Tsunade growled, staring at the young ninja in front of her. Naruto scoffed as he returned an equally strong glare.

"You gave me false information. You should have been more specific."

"You think this is my fault?" Tsunade shot back. "I wouldn't have gone straight in without double checking my resources first brat!"

"Your ways belong in the past, just like you, you old hag. That was then and this is now. Either you learn to adapt or you will be crushed."

"Why you no good disrespecting piece of shit!" Tsunade cursed out as she slammed her palm on her desk, causing it to crack. "I should demote you to a month's worth of D rank missions!"

Naruto ignored her as he turned his attention to that crack on her desk. He put his hand on the desk, allowing his skin to gently caress the rough surface of the desk. Tsunade watched as the teenager in front of her moved his hand, wondering what the hell he was doing.

It was a moment before Naruto spoke up. "The missions that you assign to me are similar to that freakish strength of yours. They're both worth shit."

In a single instant, Naruto tapped his palm against the desk and it exploded. Sawdust scattered into the air and Tsunade took a step back, raising her arm to shield herself from the surprise explosion.

She narrowed her eyes when she noticed that there was nothing left of her desk but sawdust. Her mind quickly shifted into overtime, automatically understanding just what that brat did. The way he did this was similar to one of her medical techniques. By drawing on that air essence of his and transferring it directly into the cells, the result was a huge explosion, straight down to the cellular level.

This was only possible because of his wind affinity. By focusing it into a miniscule level, Naruto turned the very air around him into a deadly weapon and he demonstrated that with her desk. It was pretty impressive, for a boy his age to grasp the concept of this technique…

"This is the proper way of destroying something _Hokage-sama_." Naruto mockingly said.

Letting her temper get the best of her, Tsunade took a step forward and pressed her index finger against Naruto's forehead. Naruto jerked his head back when he felt his vision wavering.

"What the hell are you doing you old hag?"

The Hokage merely smirked when she pulled her finger back. "I could have beaten you right there brat. Do not act so cocky when you obviously are still weaker than me."

"Weaker? I wasn't the one who had her hand injured when she foolishly decided to test her strength against my wind barrier."

Tsunade took a step forward, pushing her finger against his chest. To her surprise, Naruto stood his ground and she couldn't push him back with ease. "You are still way too young to fully understand."

Naruto swatted her finger away and smirked, "Or maybe you're just way too old to teach me."

Hearing someone take a crack at her age was something that she will not tolerate. No one has ever dared to question her about her real age, not even Jiraiya. Hearing it from Naruto's mouth pissed her off even more. "I can destroy you with just my fist you little snot. I wasn't given the title of a Sannin because of my beauty."

"Was it because of your pathetic fear of blood?"

"THAT'S IT YOU LITTLE SNOT!" Tsunade roared. "I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU INTO THE GROUND WITH THESE FISTS!"

Naruto snorted, not even bothering to raise his voice. "Those fists? They are so old that I can hear your bones crying out in pain. This won't be much of a fight. I'll destroy you without my wind barrier you old hag."

"One month!" Tsunade snarled, "You have one month to prepare yourself because when that day finally comes, I will enjoy hearing the sounds of my knuckles against that face of yours. Only this time, there's nothing stopping me."

"My wind barrier is too good to be wasted on you. I'll defeat you without it and when I do, you better not show your face in front of me again!"

"Get out!" Tsunade yelled, pointing at the door. "Don't think you're off the hook just yet brat!"

"Whatever." Naruto replied as he started walking towards the door. He didn't want to show his excitement right in front of his future opponent. Just before he exited the room, he turned back, staring straight back at the Hokage. "See you in a month you hag. Better not die before we meet."

"ARGH!" Tsunade screamed as she picked up her chair and threw it against the wall. The door closed right before the impact, sparing Naruto of any damage.

She panted slightly, feeling the anger residing away. Luckily for her, she was a woman and the best thing of being of a woman is that they're able to store away their anger for another day.

Yes… She will unleash her fury in a month. She chuckled. The brat won't know what will hit him.

- - -

_Streets of Konoha_

"Stupid old hag thinks she can defeat me huh?" Naruto uttered, walking with total disregard for whoever was in front of him. Pushing his way through the crowd, he didn't care if the person he pushed was a ninja or civilian, he was in no mood right now.

He was deep in thought, thinking about ways to improve himself during the one month wait. Knowing Tsunade, she will do everything she can to push herself to the limit, including making his life miserable.

Hell, she'll probably throw him a mission today just to spite him. Of course, he could turn them down but then, it'll give her more of a reason to defeat him. She had an army of ninjas at her whim and she can have any one of them train her but his story was different. He knew no one in this village and he doubts anyone would spare him the time of day. Especially after his incident with the Uchiha.

- - -

Hinata let out a small content moan as she casually walked around the Konoha market place. She was feeling somewhat happy today for some reason. It could be because she had the day off and was walking around town with Sakura and Ino or it could be because she had a date later tonight with Kiba.

"So where is Kiba taking you tonight?" Sakura asked, almost squealing. "I bet he's taking you to that new restaurant that opened last week."

Ino rolled her eyes, "Please, that restaurant? It's not that great. He better be taking you to that other one near the tea shop. Their food is spectacular."

"Girls, girls." Hinata giggled, "I don't know where Kiba is taking me but he told me to dress nicely."

"Ooo!" The girls screamed out in unison, drawing the attention of the crowd.

"Stop that!" Hinata said, trying to sound serious but failed. She had her own fantasies of where Kiba was taking her and she couldn't help but feel like a little girl all over again. "You're here to help me shop for a dress, not gossip about my love life."

"Oh come on Hinata. Aside from Ino and me, there are no other couples to gossip about. We can't gossip about Tenten because she's not involved with anyone!" Sakura whined. "Besides, when Tenten starts going out with someone, then we'll gossip about her."

While the girls were off in their own little world, Naruto was walking by, still lost in his world. Hinata stopped walking when she saw Naruto's figure walking towards them. Sakura did the same except she stopped talking, only able to gawk at him.

Ino was the only one who didn't understand why her girls were stopping. She turned around, staring at them. "Hey, why did you guys stop walking all of a sudden?"

There was no response from them, which infuriated her even more. "Don't you both know that this is rude? We were in the middle of talking and then you both suddenly stop. Is there something that the both of you aren't telling me?"

Oblivious to Ino, Naruto strolled by the girls, not noticing any one of them. He walked by without saying anything, only throwing a glance towards them. He could feel their fear. Their bodies were radiating that specific hormone in bulk.

Hell, it was probably his fault in the first place. Judging from their sudden state, they probably blame him for what happened.

He can hear that blond girl's voice, lecturing the other two about something being rude. It wasn't his business in the first place anyway.

"Okay stop that right now!" Ino shouted, raising her voice. She was all for the jokes and games but this has gone on long enough. People were beginning to stare and as much as she liked to be the center of attention, this was just plain creepy.

She saw that their eyes were trained on someone and so, being curious herself, Ino followed their line of sight, until it reached a certain someone that she couldn't recognize. The figure was walking towards them and Ino couldn't help but stare.

"My god… he is so hot." She commented to herself. That blond hair, those muscles and his bad boy attitude, they were enough to make her drool. "What is this feeling?" Her heart started beating faster and faster as he came closer. She let out a small squeal when he glanced towards her group.

'_Wave!'_ Her mind shouted but her body wasn't functioning at the moment. _'Damn it, wave you stupid girl!'_

No matter how much her mind was shouting, her body wasn't responding and soon, the mysterious guy walked past her.

"Damn, where the hell did he come from?" Ino muttered after the guy disappeared among the crowd. "Did you see how hot he was?"

"Guys?" When she received no answer, the girl turned around, surprised to see them glaring at the man. "What just happened? Oh my god! Did you see how hot he was?"

"Ino, that guy is not hot. In fact, he is the most despicable guy that I ever met. He's a real jerk and argh, I just want to bash his skull in!" Sakura angrily said. "I can't believe he showed his face after all that he's done."

"The guy's a jerk and a monster too." Hinata commented.

"Uh… I have a feeling I missed something here…"

"It doesn't matter. He's not worth our time. Come on Ino!" Sakura grabbed Ino's left arm while Hinata grabbed the other, dragging their friend into the nearest shop.

- - -

_Konoha Forest, north of the apartment complex_

Standing in the middle of the forest, this was the perfect area, isolated from the village and far away from the others.

Naruto closed his eyes and sat down, his back leaning against a tree. It was time that he had his chat with Fujin. The spirit once told him before that he wanted to speak to his host but Naruto never found the time to sit down and actually do it.

The only way to communicate to the wind god was through meditation. Fujin wouldn't speak to him otherwise. It had to be through meditation and nothing else. Not through genjutsu and certainly not through life and death situations. The battle against the Uchiha was different. Fujin had to come out and protect his host, because if he had perished in that battle, his existence would have disappeared as well.

While Naruto hated meditation, he had to learn it. That's what Fujin and that pervert said. It was something that all great warriors needed to do. In fact, sitting still was something that he couldn't do.

'_Fujin…'_ Naruto calmly called out in his mind. _'I'm here to talk.'_

"I'm glad that I'm finally worthy enough for my host to speak to me." Fujin chuckled. "You may open your eyes now young one."

Obeying his spirit, Naruto opened his eyes, the god of wind leering over him. He was still in the forest, except this time, Fujin was there, almost as if he had a grin over his face.

"It's good to see you again Fujin."

"And you as well young one. What can I do for you today?"

"I need to get stronger. At the level that I am now, I cannot hope to accomplish my goal. There will be stronger opponents and I'm afraid that I won't be able to defeat them." Naruto said, "Is there some way that I can grow stronger? Is there some training method that you know of that I can use?"

The spirit thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "Young one, you still do not get the meaning about your powers. I wanted to have this chat before you fought Gaara but since you neglected me, we will have this chat now."

"I explained to you years ago that you are no longer human. In fact, you are half human, half essence."

"Yes I know that." Naruto replied, nodding his head. "It was because of that doctor, Jin Hibiki." He answered, sneering at the name. "It was because of him that I'm like this."

"Calm down young one. Anger is good but pointless anger is useless. Focus it in battle and draw on its power but don't let it consume you for it is the poison of all warriors."

Sensing the wisdom from Fujin's words, Naruto took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "I'm sorry. Please continue."

"You seek more power, for what reason?"

"To defeat my enemies. There are people out there who are strong and because they are strong, they are able to change and decide fate. I cannot let that happen. I have been living by fate for way too long and it's time that I take my destiny into my own hands."

"I beg you Fujin!" Naruto said, bowing his head. "Tell me how to grow stronger."

Fujin slowly grinned, "You do not have to bow your head in respect to me young one. You have already gained my respect."

Naruto picked his head up and nodded, "Then how do I grow stronger Fujin?"

"I have also told you long ago that you do not only have my spirit within your body. You have the others."

"The others? You mean…"

"Yes, the other five essence spirits."

Naruto's eyes widened, a smile appearing on his face. This was turning out better than he expected. If he were to gain their powers, he would be able to match that old hag in power. "How do I contact them?"

"You don't. They will seek you out when they deemed you ready."

That brought a frown to his face. "If it's like that, then I'll never grow stronger."

"Every spirit does things differently. I merely appeared before you one day, granting you my powers because I sense that we are very much alike young one but the others, they may test you or require you to do trials in order to gain their powers." Fujin explained. "Whatever they ask you to do; I know that you will pass it."

"Geez thanks Fujin." Naruto replied rolling his eyes. "So what happens if I failed?"

"You will disappear."

"What?"

"Did I stutter young one?" Fujin asked, "I said you will disappear."

Naruto jumped up and pointed his finger at the spirit. "What the hell do you mean I'll disappear? What kind of bullshit is that?"

"Do not take that tone with me young one. I warned you of your anger before." The spirit lectured, "What I mean by disappear is that you, as in the personality of Naruto, will cease to exist while the spirit will take over your body."

Naruto gulped, not liking where this discussion was heading towards. "That is bullshit Fujin but I'll welcome all challenges from them. I won't back down now. I will never disappear until I complete my goal."

"That is the way young one. Do not stop to look back, continue striving for tomorrow and you will be one step closer. We will be watching your progress closely."

Naruto watched as the spirit nod his head at him before disappearing. Naruto pushed himself up and stretched his neck. "It looks like I have to show them just how serious I am."

- - -

_Sunset, Suna_

Gaara stood there admiring the sunset in silence. Since his defeat at the hands of Naruto a few weeks ago, he couldn't help but feel… content. He didn't have any ill feelings against the blond; in fact, he had nothing but respect for him. After hearing what Tsunade really wanted, he couldn't help but admire him.

This guy, Naruto, was similar to a sunset. Both of them were strong and determined but the thing that sets them apart from everyone else is that they have already had a determined path in life. Like how the sun sets from one direction to the other every day, Naruto was walking towards it, not taking any shortcuts in life.

Maybe this week, he would go to Konoha and seek him out, for a rematch. Yeah, that's what he'll do. He will go to Konoha and have a rematch with Naruto and then after, he can learn more about Naruto.

While Gaara was deep into his thoughts, a sudden presence knocked him out, alerting him that someone was here. "Who are you?" The Kazekage asked without turning back.

"A name." The voice replied. From those two words, Gaara was able to piece together some information about the person. Judging from the voice, it was female and it was not a ninja from his village. None of them were stupid enough to go against their Kage without a death warrant. She was probably about fifteen or sixteen judging by the tone of her voice and if she was asking for a name, she was probably an assassin, searching for her target.

Before Gaara could answer, sand exploded from the tower, scattering everywhere. He turned around, searching for her. "You come to me seeking answers but you are afraid to show your face."

"I don't show my face to people who aren't my targets." The assassin replied.

Gaara turned his head, searching for anything peculiar, anything that would lead him to her location.

"All I ask for is a name. Give me a name and I'll leave you alone." She stated.

Gaara narrowed his eyes, "When I find where you're hiding, I'm going to slowly kill you."

"I was told that you can tell me where he is."

"Who?" Gaara asked, still walking around the area. "If you don't give me a better description, I can't help you."

"I am searching for the one who commands the wind as if it were his own right hand."

Just as she said that, images of Naruto flashed in his mind. Gaara growled as he clutched his head, wanting to know why he was thinking about Naruto at this time. He should be concentrating on his enemy, not Naruto.

"Are you going to tell me a name or do I have to beat it out of you?" She asked once more.

Still unable to locate this person, Gaara said the only thing he could, "Over my cold dead body."

"Gladly." Without warning, a girl just a few inches shorter than him appeared from under him. Before Gaara could react, he felt a numbing pain from the back of his neck and his vision giving out. The last words that he heard from her were nothing more than a few syllables.

"Well shit." He uttered as his body dropped to the ground, losing consciousness fast.

- - -

_The next day, Konoha_

Tsunade sighed as the morning sun rose. Why couldn't mornings officially start in the afternoon, that way, she could get her sleep and maybe a new desk.

But of course it doesn't work that way. Morning officially started at seven and her desk would be coming by today in the afternoon.

So she had to sit there, in her uncomfortable chair, holding her cup of tea while the morning sun taunted her.

If only she had a desk, then she would be able to put this damn tea down and read her newspaper.

Hell, why would she stop there. If she didn't have to put up with Naruto, she wouldn't be in this damn mood right now.

But of course, things don't that way and she was sure the fates were laughing at her right now. Things can't get any worse than this. She has officially hit rock bottom.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shikamaru shouted as he ran into her office, kicking the doors open. "Gaara disappeared!"

Okay, now she officially hit rock bottom. She had no desk, Naruto and a missing Kage. Life was just peachy.

"What the hell do you mean he disappeared?"

"Temari said Gaara vanished from the village. She couldn't find any traces of her brother anywhere. They spent the night searching and is requesting backup."

"Akatsuki?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "Unlikely but we can't rule out that possibility."

Tsunade groaned, rubbing her head. She wasn't even drinking and she had a hangover. "Fine, I'll send a team out to help them search."

"I'm going Tsunade-sama." Shikamaru stated as if it was the obvious thing in the world.

"I'm afraid you can't Shikamaru, Chouji isn't back from his mission and I'm not letting you go with just Ino and Asuma. It's too big of a risk if it's Akatsuki."

"I'm afraid you misunderstood me, I said I'm going either you approve of it or not. Temari needs me right now and as the diplomat between Suna and Konoha, I am within my rights to travel between villages at any given time."

"You're pulling the book on me?" Tsunade asked, her eyes wide. "Fine! Be at the gates in an hour. I'll be sending you, Ino, Asuma and a person of my choice to Suna."

"Thank you!" Shikamaru replied as he disappeared via Shunshin.

Tsunade shook her head as she took another sip of her hot tea. "Ah… young love…"

She took a moment to think about whom she would be sending off with that team and it was only for a moment that she thought. It was such an obvious choice.

"Shizune!" Tsunade yelled. "Find Naruto and tell him to be at the front gates in an hour for a mission. It is non-negotiable!"

She could hear her assistant step away from her desk and Shunshin away. Times like this, it was good to be the boss.

- - -

_Konoha Gate, 1 hour later_

"Where the hell is this person?" Shikamaru uttered. He paced back and forth in circles. Tsunade told him that everyone will be at the gates in one hour. One freaking hour. He should have been here by now.

"Forget it, let's just go."

"Hold your horses Shikamaru. This is a four man team. Not a three man team." Asuma stated as he took another puff from his cigarette. "Besides, it's not an hour yet, we still have three minutes."

Ino sighed as she played with her kunai. "I can't believe I'm saying this but can we please go? I'm bored!"

Asuma only chuckled, "You guys are so impatient. If we leave now rather than three minutes later, do you think we'll find Gaara sooner?"

He understands why Shikamaru is so anxious to get to Suna but the boy has to understand that being unprepared is the worst thing for a ninja. They have to be fully prepared if they were to go against Akatsuki.

"Say, Asuma-sensei, do you know who our last team member is?" Ino asked. She was awakened at an ungodly hour by Shikamaru who dragged her out of bed because of a mission. Not only did she not get her sleep, she didn't know all the mission details and she hated being left out in the dark.

"I don't know, Shikamaru's in charge of this mission here." The jounin replied, laughing at his former student's facial expression. "I'm as clueless as the rest of you on this one."

"Wait, I think I see someone coming."

Shikamaru and Ino both turned their heads, looking at the east. They could faintly make out the shape of a man but they didn't recognize him.

Naruto yawned as he put his hands in his pockets, walking towards the front gate. "Who the hell wakes up at this hour?"

He was having the best dream about getting his revenge and then a sudden knock on his hotel room disrupted him. Honestly to say, he wasn't pleased about this mission. No, he was downright pissed.

Naruto looked up and saw several figures standing by the gate. He assumed that it was his 'team' for this mission. He didn't recognize anyone of them except for that girl. Yeah, she was the one he saw with the others yesterday while he was walking around.

Ino smiled when the figured came closer and she instantly recognized him as the mystery hunk that she saw yesterday. _'Score one for the Ino!'_ She thought.

Shikamaru on the other hand, was glad that the guy finally showed up. "Okay let's move out!"

"Hold on Shikamaru. We don't even know if this is our guy. Let's do some introductions and then see if he is our last team member."

The shadow Jounin groaned, "Fine Asuma. We'll do it your way."

Asuma grinned as he walked up to Naruto and held out his hand, "Hey there, I'm Asuma, the impatient one over there is Shikamaru and the girl with ponytail is Ino. Are you the last member that Tsunade-sama sent over?"

Naruto stared at the man and then to the outward hand and back. He took in the features of everyone around him before sighing. "Yeah, I'm the last member that the stupid hag sent for your little mission."

Asuma pulled his hand back, a little embarrassed for holding it out. "Uh… so why don't you introduce yourself. I never saw you around before although you're somewhat familiar."

"Introduce myself?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, like your information, martial status, your hobbies, your women preferences..." Ino answered, pushing Asuma out of the way.

"If you want my name, you'll have to earn it."

"Oh come on, surely you can tell us your name right? Maybe your women preference as well."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Get lost. I don't do introductions."

In Ino's eyes, she was struck with admiration. The way that this guy said all those things… it was just… cool.

"You are so… hot." She blurted out. Shikamaru sighed as he pushed her out of the way.

"Listen, I don't care for your name or anything else. I need to know if you're either with us or against us. I can't waste my time with the likes of you."

Naruto pulled his head back and laughed, "Finally, a brain amongst the team."

"Yeah, that's great. Just give me a damn answer!" Shikamaru replied. "We're wasting time here!"

"Does it matter if I'm with you or not? I was given a mission from the old hag and I will accomplish it."

"That's good enough for me. Asuma, Ino, we're moving out!"

"Hold up." Asuma said, flicking his cigarette at the ground. "You might not care who he is but I care. I'm not moving until I get some answers. Now tell us, who the hell are you?"

"If you want to know something about me, you'll have to earn it." Naruto answered. "Are we moving or not? I don't care if you waste my time here but pineapple head over there is almost about to burst a vein."

Asuma turned his head just to see Shikamaru glaring daggers at him. In one simple eye contact, he received several death threats from his former student. Seeing that he was defeated, Asuma merely nodded his head. "Okay fine. Let's move out."

Shikamaru nodded his head and took the lead. "Move with maximum speed and utmost efficiency. We're aiming for Suna in one day."

Ino and Asuma nodded their head while Naruto said nothing. He took up the rear, hopping from tree to tree with his hands still in his pockets.

- - -

"What the hell do you mean he can't be found?" Temari angrily shouted. "GET YOUR ASSES OUT THERE AND KEEP SEARCHING!"

"Come on Nee-chan, we spent the entire night searching for Gaara and we found no traces besides that letter. Let us have a rest." Kankuro begged.

"Fine but just do it for another hour." Temari replied in a small voice. "Please, I beg of you."

Hearing that sad voice, Kankuro felt his will disappearing and nodded his head. "Fine, one more hour."

Temari looked up and smiled, "Thank you Kankuro."

She watched the search team ShunShin from the room and back into the village, searching for their lost kage and more importantly, their brother.

She couldn't believe that her brother was missing. Her little brother, the strongest ninja in the whole village was missing. In her heart, she feared that Akatsuki was on the move again, this time going after Gaara for some unknown reason and with each hour going by with no new information, that scenario was slowly becoming a reality.

Temari did the only thing she could when Gaara didn't show up for dinner last night. Sent out a massive search team and an express message to Shikamaru.

It was odd that Gaara missed dinner but she figured he was still at work but she began worrying when he wasn't in his office either. The only thing that was in his office was a small scroll.

"Temari!"

She immediately snapped out of her daydream and found herself staring at the man who could possibly help her. "Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru panted heavily when he pushed the doors opened and called out her name. They have gotten here in record time, only five hours instead of the usual two days. An amazing feat if you asked him.

The girl ran from the desk and leaped into his arms, giving him a hug. "I'm glad you're here."

Shikamaru returned the hug, "I came as fast as I can."

The two remained in their embrace, forgetting about their current situation. The others watched on awkwardly, feeling that they shouldn't be here for this. Asuma let out a slight cough, interrupting the couple's hug. "Um, it's great to see you too Temari-san."

Temari then pulled away and blushed, "Sorry Asuma-san. Please come in." She moved away from the doors and let the team moved in. She watched as they walked in one by one.

Asuma Sarutobi, the son of Konoha's third Hokage. An excellent leader and skilled fighter. She had a great deal of respect for him not because of his reputation but because of who he is.

Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru's teammate and childhood friend. She excelled in mind and medical techniques. Temari couldn't help but feel jealous of this girl, due to her closeness to her boyfriend but all those worries went out the door when they became close friends.

Lastly, the last member of their team is Chouji… Temari's eyes widened when it wasn't the bulky man walking through the door. It was him, the person who defeated her brother.

"You!" She shouted, pointing her finger at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto shrugged, "I'm with them."

Shikamaru looked at the two, confused by their actions. "You two know each other?" He asked, wondering how the both of them know each other.

Naruto shook his head, "It's none of your business." He walked by Temari, entering the room. "So where's that raccoon hiding?"

Clearing her throat, Temari began telling them the entire story, starting from the point where Gaara didn't come from dinner to how she found a letter on his desk. She told them that they searched the entire village and still couldn't find anything about Gaara. It was almost like he vanished from the face of the planet.

"There was also a scroll here, but I can't seem to open it." Temari said, holding out a small scroll. "There's some sort of seal on it."

Ino took the scroll and briefly examined it. "Looks like a recognition seal, right Asuma-sensei?"

The Jounin nodded his head, "It won't open unless the person it was meant to go to holds it." He passed it onto Shikamaru who also nodded his head. The scroll went around in a circle before it went back to Temari. She sighed as she handed the scroll off to Naruto.

"Here, you try."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, wondering why she was giving it to Naruto. Was there something that she's not telling him? Was she seeing him on the side?

Naruto looked at the scroll with hesitation. "Why are you giving it to me? Aren't you angry at what I did?"

"Why would I be angry that you defeated Gaara? It's not everyday that I witness someone defeating my little brother."

"Wait, wait. This guy defeated your brother, the Kazekage?" Ino exclaimed, looking at Naruto. "Are you kidding? He's that strong?"

"You didn't tell them?" Temari asked, looking at Naruto.

"No. It was none of their business." Naruto replied. He took the scroll and the moment he touched it, he felt a small shock.

"What the hell is his name anyway?" Ino asked, grabbing Temari's arm.

"You didn't tell them your name either?"

Again, Naruto didn't answer, his hands already unrolling the scroll.

"So it was meant for you." Asuma said, staring at the scroll next to Naruto. "What does it say?"

Naruto stared at the scroll, seeing nothing but a blank but he felt something here on the scroll. He moved his fingers, feeling the scroll to see if there was anything on it. When he reached the middle, another shock came and this time, he dropped it and clutched his hand.

Visions of this place started appearing in his head, somewhere surrounded by sand, a cave of sorts but he didn't know what the vision was trying to tell him.

"Naruto!" Temari called out his name, "Are you okay?"

More visions came and soon it became clear. He saw Gaara lying on the floor, bleeding from his head but the weird part was that they were hiding out in a cave.

"I'm fine."

"Is that your name? Naruto?" Ino asked, standing behind him. Asuma stood next to her, waiting for his answer. The only person who wasn't standing behind him was Shikamaru, who stood in front of him.

"Yeah."

Everyone watched as this blond enigma stood up and started walking towards the door. "Where are you going?" Asuma asked.

"To the raccoon."

Without another word, Naruto left the room, with everyone following closely behind him.

- - -

_Konoha_

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jiraiya asked, rubbing his head nervously.

"Stop your whining and come at me!" Tsunade yelled, her fists held up in a defensive position.

Jiraiya sighed as he dropped into his fighting stance. "I hate my life." He muttered.

* * *

Author's Note - I know some of you are wondering, damn when the hell is he going to learn a new Essence? My answer - Sooner than you think.


End file.
